City Accepts Settlement in Lawsuit Stemming From Denied Insurance Claim

At the Tuesday, Feb. 18 City Council meeting, council voted to accept a settlement in a lawsuit that stems from a denied insurance claim. 

The settlement amount of $185,000 was announced after council returned from closed-session. The amount recouped is far less than the city sought. 

Documents obtained through the PACER (Public Access to Court Electronic Records) system show that the city filed the lawsuit after it was denied an $825,000 insurance claim to pay out a lawsuit settlement in 2023. 

The saga goes all the way back to 2017, when Country Mill Farms filed a lawsuit against the city after being excluded as a vendor from the city’s farmers market. The city excluded the farm because its owner posted on Facebook that their Charlotte venue would not host same-sex marriages. Country Mill Farms sued, winning a long legal battle in 2023 and eventually agreeing to an $825,000 settlement with the city. 

In the suit settled last night, the city requested the full amount owed to Country Mill Farms of $825,000, plus attorney fees and interest. 

According to records, the city was insured by Lloyd’s Underwriters at London at the time the suit was filed, and the insurance policy was administered by Davies Claims Solutions. Both companies are named as defendants in the civil lawsuit. 

When the city put in a claim in 2023, it was denied. The claim was denied after Lloyd’s was apparently not notified of the claim by Davies. Lloyd’s also asserted it does not owe coverage on a claim that was settled without its consent, according to the PACER documents. 

The $185,000 settlement is $640,000 less than what the city initially owed to Country Mill Farms. 

ELi put in a media request to the city yesterday, asking for comment on the lawsuit, but has not yet heard back.