The homeowners lived in a three-story, 3,500-square-foot home, on 6.5 acres. The property encompassed a large barn, greenhouses, a chicken coop, vegetable garden, swimming pool, aviary, a 2,500-gallon water tank, and two acres of fenced pastures. The house was fully landscaped and surrounded by lawn with irrigation. The heavily wooded property had very large trees — oak, pine, and redwood — and fruit trees of various types.
A wildfire destroyed the property, which was a total loss. The homeowners faced daunting work in the fire’s aftermath. The property had a private road, to which a neighbor had easement rights. The entrance gate, electronics, and motor were destroyed and needed replacing. The fire-fighting heavy equipment tore up the road, which had to be rebuilt and repaved. About 2,200 linear feet of fencing and posts needed to be replaced. The homeowners cut down over 850 severely damaged trees and then had the chore of removing them. All the landscaping pipes and lighting was destroyed and needed replacing. The property’s water supply, a 500-foot well, was contaminated and required cleaning, and a new pump and tank needed to be installed. All of the water piping to the house, garden, and landscaping had to be replaced, along with the pastures’ automatic water tanks.
Disheartened by their losses, the homeowners met with resistance and delays when they sought compensation from their insurance company. Frustrated and upset, they came to us for assistance, and we agreed that they were not being treated fairly. Our firm represented the homeowners and succeeded in obtaining a settlement of over $4 million for them to help cover the expense of rebuilding.
