Insurance company refuses to pay 82-year-old Las Vegas woman's claim after her home burned down

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — A national insurance company refuses to pay the insurance claim of an 82-year-old woman whose Las Vegas home caught fire and burned to the ground in July 2023, destroying 70% of the house and the majority of her possessions inside, investigators at Nexstar's KLAS have learned.

Liberty Mutual canceled the woman's homeowners policy two weeks before the fire, saying the woman, Judi Johnson, and her special-needs adult son were running a motorcycle repair shop out of their three-bedroom home, according to documents provided by the homeowner.

"No," Johnson said when asked if she or her son were running a business from the home. "And I don't see how it could have been very profitable. You know, we have no skills. We have no abilities. I don't know one bike from another."

Regardless, Johnson and her son are living in temporary housing. It's all boarded up now, because vagrants would break in, stay inside, and loot the house," Johnson said.

"They would break the padlocks," Johnson said, telling KLAS that those intruders "ripped out all the plumbing."

Neil May, a public insurance adjuster at Spartan Claims Resources in Las Vegas, took Johnson's case when the insurance company refused to pay her claim. 

"She definitely needs an advocate," May said during a tour of the property earlier this year.

"The just resolution would be that [Liberty Mutual] would cover this loss and they'd rebuild it to pre-loss condition," May said, noting an insurance company would normally make an initial offer of settlement within 30 days of the claim. 

Johnson said contractors she hired to provide estimates said it would take six to nine months to restore the home. But it's been vacant for well over a year, and work has not commenced.

"This is accidental direct physical loss, which is an accident," May said. "This is something that is definitely covered by every homeowner's insurance policy. "

Initially, Johnson explained, an inspector from Liberty Mutual told her a cigarette butt he found in her backyard caused the fire. But Johnson is adamant that the fire started on the back exterior wall of her home where her solar system hardware is located.

"He said, 'This is what caused the fire.' I said, 'The fire started there, and a cigarette butt doesn't stay lit,'" Johnson told KLAS, pointing out the black char on the wall surrounding the solar installation.

Las Vegas Fire and Rescue, whose firefighters Johnson credits with putting out the quickly-spreading fire and saving her pets' lives, would not identify a cause.

"While we may have a theory, it would be unethical to confirm or negate the theory as we cannot apply supporting evidence," a fire and rescue spokesman told KLAS. Citing a source of a fire requires a "high degree of certainty and proof," the spokesman said: "The heat source is listed as undetermined. Additionally, the factors contributing to ignition are listed as undetermined."

But May, the public adjuster, said Johnson is being mistreated by the insurance company, which has hired an attorney from California for representation amid its investigation of Johnson's claim.

"I think she's being more belligerent towards our client, Judi," May said, adding, "How would you want someone to treat your grandmother? That's how you should treat every client."

The attorney examined Johnson under oath in December 2023. She took issue with Johnson's written assertion that a certain refrigerator she bought at Lowe's was destroyed in the fire and would cost $700 to replace. The attorney called Johnson's refrigerator claim "a lie." Johnson, in her own defense and appearing at the examination without an attorney, said, "I did the best I could."

"That's not doing the best you can," the lawyer replied. At a different juncture, the attorney cautioned Johnson that the misrepresentation was "potentially a felony."

To date, there are no charges against Johnson pending in Clark County Justice Court or District Court.

But the examination under oath evolved into a discussion of the purported business being operated from within Johnson's home.

Johnson said she appealed the insurance company's decision to cancel her policy. 

The attorney asked, "And then the decision on the appeal was they still felt that a business was being operated out of your home, correct?"

"Correct," Johnson said. 

"And two weeks later, the house catches fire?" the attorney asked.

"Correct," Johnson answered.

"And you don't think anything's wrong with that?" the attorney asked, questioning the timing of the policy cancellation and the fire.

Johnson, though, is optimistic.

"The way I look at it," Johnson told KLAS, "I'm going to win."

Liberty Mutual told KLAS it would not comment on the matter.