The Inventory Contents List Was Reviewed During The EUO

Posted on August 17, 2009 by Steven V. Buckman

During the EUO, opposing counsel marked Bubba's personal inventory list as an exhibit and said he wanted to go over some of the items destroyed in the fire. EUOs are a good tool for finding out information and evaluating the credibility of the insured.  On its face, Bubba's contents list probably caused an "inquiring mind" to want to know more.  There were only 9 pages, but Bubba had more handguns than socks, even counting the ones that didn't match.  Shotguns took almost 2 pages, the rifles and semi-autos used almost another 6 pages.  Most homeowners' policies have maximum limits for guns and jewelry.  The Wewoka Worldwide policy limited guns to $2,500.00.  And it was a safe bet Bubba wasn't claiming any jewelry.

I heard the "tall building" lawyer say, "You know sir that your policy has a $2,500.00 limit on your guns?"  Bubba sounded off like he was back in boot camp, "NO SIR, I bought full coverage for my guns, sir!"  I couldn't help laughing when Bubba started telling him "his guns wuz covered under the fishin' " part of the policy. I amused myself listening to the conversation until I saw opposing counsel reach into his brief case and pull out one of those big bottles of Tums. I decided to help him out just a little and said.  "I think Bubba might be talking about his inland marine floater for coverage on the guns."  Bubba's agent had helped Bubba by covering the guns under a floater.  Bubba just associated "floater" and "marine" with "fishin'".

One significant difference between an EUO and a deposition is the "read and sign" part. In deposition, witnesses commonly waive the right to read and review the transcript.  In an EUO, most insurance policies require the witness to read and sign. Bubba's going to "let me do the readin' " of his transcript before he signs.  Lucky me!

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Bubba Gives Sworn Testimony In The EUO

Posted on August 10, 2009 by Steven V. Buckman

An EUO is a lot like a deposition or testifying in court. There is a court reporter present who swears in the insured and takes down the sworn testimony. The insured is asked a lot of questions about their background and the reported claim. A lawyer wouldn't be worth much if he didn't at least try to prepare his client for the questions and go over what to expect. I did my best to help Bubba.

The EUO started with the court reporter asking Bubba to raise his right hand to be sworn.  She then told him "to raise his other right hand to take the oath."  The background questions were anticipated and Bubba managed to answer them. 

It was entertaining to hear Bubba explain his temporary housing expenses.  He ran 275 feet of electrical extension cords from Pudge's kitchen to his tent so he could watch TV. Bubba, who can fix almost anything with duct tape and baling wire, bought a brand new plasma television and it just barely fit inside the 6' wide tent he used as his temporary residence.

The "tall building lawyer" was skeptical Bubba had run extension cords from Pudge's kitchen window down to his tent and he bluntly told Bubba he didn't believe anyone would hook up a 50" plasma TV inside a tent.

Bubba's third wife is the only person I ever saw call Bubba a liar that didn't pay a hefty price for saying it. Judianne, his wife, was 5'2" and 104 lbs., when wearing her tallest, heaviest pair of cowboy boots blurted out in the middle of the "day-vorce" hearing, that Bubba was lying.  When he stood up to protest, she stuck one finger up his nose, another finger in the corner of his eye, and yanked his head around to where he didn't need a rearview mirror to back up.  Judge Smith and I still disagree over whether she whispered in his ear or bit it! Every time the bailiff tried to pull her off, Bubba howled like a calf at branding time. Judge Smith was threatening to hold Judianne in contempt, while alternately yellin' "Order in the Court!" It wasn't till he threatened not to grant the divorce that she finally turned loose.

It could have been downright ugly at the EUO if Bubba had realized his honesty was being questioned. Fortunately, Bubba was so busy explaining how he installed the satellite dish in the tree next to the tent, he didn't even notice his integrity had been challenged.

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