Kling v. Fire Insurance Exchange CA2/8

Filed 4/3/23 Kling v. Fire Insurance Exchange CA2/8 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 8.1115(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION EIGHT

MARY J. KLING et al., B316880

Plaintiffs and Appellants, (Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. 19STCV41594) v.

FIRE INSURANCE EXCHANGE,

Defendant and Respondent.

APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, Maureen Duffy-Lewis, Judge. Affirmed.

Kling Law Firm, Anthony N. Kling; Law Office of David Knieriem and David Knieriem for Plaintiffs and Appellants.

Woolls Peer Dollinger & Scher, Gregory B. Scher, H. Douglas Galt and Sander Alvarez for Defendant and Respondent. _________________________

A neighbor’s tree fell on appellant Mary Kling’s residence.1 Respondent Fire Insurance Exchange (Fire) insured the residence. It paid approximately $21,000 to cover the damage to the residence and filed a separate subrogation action against the neighbors to recoup what it had paid. However, Kling made a separate and final claim for damages totaling approximately $800,000. Fire declined to pay most of the larger amount after it concluded the impact of the fallen tree did not cause the alleged additional damage. Kling and Clifford, LLC sued for breach of contract and bad faith failure to pay on the insurance contract. In this opinion we hereinafter refer to both appellants as Kling. The trial court agreed with Fire that the evidence of lack of causation was undisputed and granted summary judgment in favor of Fire. We affirm. BACKGROUND Respondent Fire issued a homeowners policy for the premises located at 160 N. Cliffwood Avenue in Los Angeles. Kling made a claim on the policy when a neighbor’s tree fell on the residence on December 9, 2018. On December 12, 2018, Fire’s insurance adjuster inspected the property and paid $1,700 to remove the tree and $750 to tarp a portion of the roof to mitigate potential water intrusion. On December 13, 2018, Fire paid $5,636.86 (after subtracting the $1,000 deductible) for repairs to the interior and exterior of the impacted laundry room, a portion of the roof, a portion of a fence and a gate. Kling claimed additional damages to electrical wiring and exterior lights