Settlement reached in Cross legal battle

FINDLAY — A settlement agreement has been reached between the Liberty Mutual insurance company and former state Rep. Jon Cross, of Findlay, in a legal dispute that dates to October 2023.

On Monday, Cross, and his wife, Christina, filed notice with the U.S. District Court, Toledo, that a settlement agreement had been reached and asked the court to adjourn all upcoming hearings and deadlines while the parties finalize their settlement.

It is not known if the terms of the settlement agreement will be made public.

The case involves an insurance claim filed by the couple after a fire destroyed their Kenton home in August 2023.

On March 12, the company filed a motion for "summary judgment" with the court. The Crosses had until Monday to respond to the motion. According to the court's docket, the parties made progress "toward a potential resolution" at a settlement conference held March 17.

A summary judgment is a legal ruling made by the court without a trial. Summary judgments are common in civil litigation, when one party argues there is no dispute over the facts of the case. Liberty Mutual is also asking that the court dismiss the couple's "bad faith" counterclaim. In the motion, the Liberty Mutual Personal Insurance Company, based in Boston, said it sought court action after Jon Cross threatened to use his political power to win the claims dispute.

In the motion, Liberty Mutual said Jon Cross told them to "lawyer up," so it did. The company then describes an interaction it says the couple had with a claims adjuster on Sept. 5, 2023. According to the filing:

"Mr. Cross then told the claims adjuster that he 'is a legislator and he makes the laws for Ohio' and that 'he plans to find a favorable judge for the case.' Mr. Cross then advised the claims adjuster to 'lawyer up' and that he 'plans to reach out to the CEO' and that Liberty does 'not realize how powerful I am.' The claims notes state that one or both defendants utilized profanity during the call, and Mr. Cross informed the claims adjuster that their personal property would exceed limits and to 'get ready' for all the receipts. This led Liberty to initiate this action in October 2023."

Liberty Mutual filed the complaint with the district court on Oct. 19, 2023. The company is seeking a declaratory judgment from the court on its partial denial of the claim. A declaratory judgment is a binding judgment from a court defining the legal relationship between parties and their rights in a matter before the court. Both Cross and his wife are named as defendants.

The complaint centers on about $300,000 in renovations to the Kenton home, started in March 2023, and included in the insurance claim, according to the court filing.

In a letter to the Crosses, dated Sept. 5, 2023, Liberty Mutual said the couple failed to notify the insurance company of the renovations, voiding a replacement cost provision for the dwelling and personal property. The company set the claim limit at $643,390 for the replacement cost of the dwelling and the actual cash value of the personal property, subject to depreciation. The letter is included in the court filing.

In the court filing, Liberty Mutual states the Crosses "contend that Home Protector Endorsement’s Replacement Cost Provision entitles them to an increase in their policy limits and/or policy limits beyond $634,390.40, as well as replacement cost for their personal property."

The endorsement required notification for any renovation that would increase the replacement cost of the subject dwelling by $5,000 or more. The couple has argued that they did notify the company of the improvements, but Liberty Mutual says it has no record of the notification.

The insurance company is asking the court to issue an order declaring the limit of the dwelling loss as $634,390.

A countersuit, filed by Cross and his wife, argues that the company breached their contract by only partially approving their insurance claim for the losses and asks for a jury trial.

The couple is seeking an award for damages and at least $25,000 to cover their litigation costs.

In a motion to dismiss filed on Dec. 26, Liberty Mutual denies most of the claims made in the countersuit and states the allegations "are inconsistent with the content or meaning" of the couple's insurance policy. It also denies allegations that the company failed to "fully and fairly" handle the claim.

Liberty Mutual also argues that the couple's demand for attorney fees is not permissible by law.

The company has asked the court to dismiss the counterclaim, award no recovery of expenses to the couple, and seeks to recover "reasonable costs" for defending against it.

The couple's Kenton home, at 16511 Maureen Dr., its contents and two vehicles were destroyed by the fire. In January 2024, the Ohio Fire Marshal's Office ended its investigation of the fire and closed the case without a cause being determined. Cross has since moved to Findlay. The couple purchased a home in Findlay's Pheasant Run addition on Sept. 25, 2024, for $792,533, according to the Hancock County auditor's office.

Cross, 45, served three terms as representative for the 83rd District in the Ohio House of Representatives, from January 2019 to January 2025. He lost his bid for the Republican nomination for a fourth term to state Rep. Ty Mathews, R-Findlay, in the March 2024 primary. The 83rd District includes Hancock, Hardin and part of Logan counties.