Wednesday marks two years since a tornado outbreak that dropped at least nine separate tornadoes in North Texas, including an EF-3 tornado that stayed on the ground for 32 minutes in Northeast Dallas.
That Dallas tornado on the night of Oct. 20, 2019, did an estimated $1.5 billion in damage, making it the costliest tornado event in Texas history.
There is still evidence of the damage that was done scattered along the 15-mile path of the EF-3 tornado. At the southeast corner of Preston Road and Royal Lane, the tornado tore through a shopping center that is anchored by a Central Market grocery store. That store only reopened on June 30 of this year, about 20 months after the storm. The remainder of the stores in the strip, connected to the grocery store, have yet to reopen.
Just this week, at least two property owners have filed new lawsuits against their insurance companies, citing breach of contract for failure to pay claims.
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In one case, a homeowner filed suit on behalf of he and his widow, a woman who at the time of the tornado was suffering from cancer that later claimed her life. The homeowner, Richard Carrell, claims that the tornado damaged their home in the 6300 block of Northport Drive in Dallas, and that his insurance company, Nationwide, has fought him “with Machiavellian cunning and callousness.”
Carrell claims the insurance company has pushed for cosmetic fixes to his home instead of a proper fix and has offered a ‘take it or leave it’ lowball payment as a result.
In a separate lawsuit, Realm Management, LLC, the owner of a warehouse in Garland that was damaged by an EF-2 tornado that night, has claimed that its insurance provider, AGCS Marine Insurance Company, has refused to provide a proper payment that would cover damage done to the roof and walls of the warehouse on South Shiloh Road.
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