Thompson v. State Farm Lloyds

── Thompson v. State Farm Lloyds ── Court: Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit Date: May 20, 2026 Category: Private Civil Diversity Case: 24-20519 Document: 52-1 Page: 1 Date Filed: 05/20/2026 United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit ____________ FILED May 20, 2026 No. 24-20519 Lyle W. Cayce ____________ Clerk Dora Doss Thompson, Plaintiff—Appellant, versus State Farm Lloyds, Defendant—Appellee. ______________________________ Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas USDC No. 4:23-CV-2322 ______________________________ Before Southwick, Higginson, and Wilson, Circuit Judges. Per Curiam: * The Plaintiff, Dora Doss Thompson, brought this suit against the Defendant, State Farm Lloyds, for failing to pay a claim for hail damage to her roof. The district court granted summary judgment to State Farm Lloyds. Thompson appealed to this court. Because Thompson has not met her burden under Texas law to show the timing of her loss, we AFFIRM. _____________________ * This opinion is not designated for publication. See 5th Cir. R. 47.5. Case: 24-20519 Document: 52-1 Page: 2 Date Filed: 05/20/2026 No. 24-20519 FACTS AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND State Farm began as the sole insurer of Dora Thompson’s home in Cypress, Texas, on April 12, 2007. In February 2022, Thompson, concerned about recurring leaks, asked her contractor, Shingle Hut, LLC, to examine her roof. On February 11, Martin Langley, an employee of Shingle Hut, inspected the property. Three days later, the owner of Shingle Hut, Kevin Catchings, sent a letter to Thompson informing her that her home needed a complete reroofing, with an estimated cost of $44,419.05, due to damage from a hailstorm on September 28, 2021. Based on the letter, Thompson filed a claim with State Farm for wind and hail damage from the September storm. State Farm sent a third-party contractor, Seek Now, to inspect the house. Seek Now found hail damage on a window screen and the home’s back gutter system, but no hail damage to the roof itself. In a February 24 letter, State Farm informed Thompson that, based on the inspection, it estimated the covered damage to be $541.92, well below Thompson’s policy deductible of $14,186. The letter also noted “additional damage not caused by hail” and listed the insurance policy exclusions for damage caused by wear and tear, corrosion, rot, settling, plants, and animals. As State Farm’s estimation of the covered loss was under the policy deductible, it made no payment on the claim. In March 2022, Thompson invoked her right of appraisal under the insurance policy. Prior to appraisal, State Farm conducted a second inspection, which found no wind or hail damage to the roof and instead noted above-average wear on the shingles, including “heavy blistering.” The appraisal took place in September 2022. The umpire agreed with Thompson’s appraiser and set the replacement cost value of the damage at $57,983.61 and the actual cost value at $36,803.96. Later that month, State Farm sent a letter to Thompson acknowledging receipt of the appraisal award 2 Case: 24-20519 Document: 52-1 Page: 3 Date Filed: 05/20/2026 No. 24-205