ePluribus Media - Noe Sued Insurance Company Over Property Claim and Lost

In 1996 Tom Noe, the embattled coin dealer and Ohio Republican fund-raiser, filed an insurance claim to be reimbursed for property valued at $203,588 that he said had been stolen from his car.

Just 44 days earlier, a property-insurance policy had been activated that covered the loss of inventory by theft, although the policy specifically excluded coverage for property "in an unattended vehicle." Consequently, the carrier, Homestead Insurance Company, initially rejected Noe's claim, citing this exclusion in his insurance coverage.

In July 1997, according to Northern District Court records, Noe sued both Homestead and the North American Collectibles Association (NACA) -- the organization through which he had purchased the policy -- for $2 million, apparently trying to compel the insurance company to pay the claim by challenging its interpretation of the language in the exclusion. In April 1999 the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals decided in favor of the defendants (Homestead and NACA), upholding an earlier ruling handed down by the district court.

The details of the case, outlined in the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals decision:

On the evening of November 30, 1996, Mr. Noe and his wife were returning home from Dearborn, Michigan, after attending the annual convention of the Michigan State Numismatic Society. Mr. Noe had exhibited coins for sale at the convention. On the back seat of the Noes' 1995 Oldsmobile Cutlass sedan - in briefcases over which Mrs. Noe's coat had been draped - was $203,588 worth of coins and currency belonging to the plaintiff.

Mr. and Mrs. Noe had originally planned to return this property to the coin store in Maumee before driving to their home in Waterville, Ohio. Before they reached Maumee, however, Mrs. Noe spoke by cellular phone with her niece, Jennifer Bennett, who was watching after Mrs. Noe's three children for the weekend. Jennifer was at Mrs. Noe's sister's house, with the children, in Sylvania, Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Noe changed their plans and drove to Sylvania to pick up the children. The driving time from the convention site in Dearborn to the sister's house in Sylvania was a little less than an hour.

Upon reaching the house in Sylvania, Mr. Noe pulled into the driveway and parked behind a van that Jennifer was using for the weekend. Another car was also standing in the driveway. The Noes retrieved a cassette tape out of the trunk of the Cutlass, and Mrs. Noe proceeded to the side-door of the house - a distance of twenty to twenty-five feet. A floodlight illuminated the driveway.

Mr. Noe locked the car doors with a remote control device, after which he checked every door individually to make sure it was locked. He then followed his wife into the house. There he greeted and hugged his stepchildren, standing where he could watch the car through the door at the side of the house. He subsequently helped the children get their shoes and coats on, and at one point he went back out to the driveway to get a child's coat out of the van.

Angel Bennett, another of Mrs. Noe's nieces, came in the side door a little later and asked what the commotion was on the street. Mr. Noe looked outside and saw nothing, but nonetheless went to check on the car. What he found was that the rear passenger window had been smashed and the company briefcases removed. Mr. Noe's personal briefcase was also taken, but Mrs. Noe's coat and purse, a duffle bag, a cellular phone and a radar detector remained undisturbed. The car doors were still locked. Mr. Noe did not see anyone driving or running away from the scene. The total time elapsing between the locking of the car doors and the discovery of the theft was said to have been three to five minutes.

About a month and a half before the theft, the plaintiff had purchased a policy of insurance from defendant Homestead Insurance Company through defendant North American Collectibles Association. The policy, which included coverage for the loss of inventory by way of theft, had gone into effect on October 17, 1996.

The account of the burglary described in Mr. Noe's original report to the police is similar to the account included in the court's decision papers, except that the police report also notes the presence nearby of two large automobiles containing "at least" three males. From the police report filed with the Sylvania Township Police Department:

A detective — since retired — was assigned to the case, but according to Sgt. Det. Colwell of the Sylvania Township Police Department, records show no investigative action was taken except for the filing of the initial police report. No further discussions with or inquiries by Noe were recorded. Nor do any records show that Noe supplied a detailed list of the stolen property, as requested by the police at the time of the initial report.