A Houston property owner says Berkshire Hathaway Direct trains its adjusters to keep vandalism estimates below the deductible.
Space and Rooms LLC, whose sole member and director is Princewell Zeblon, filed suit on May 19, 2026 in the US District Court for the Southern District of Texas. The case turns on a property at 2725 Lone Oak Rd in Houston, which the complaint says was vandalized on or about April 25, 2025.
The owner filed a claim under Policy No. PTX5SSX68X. According to the complaint, the adjuster told the plaintiff up front that the damage would be fully covered and that the plaintiff had nothing to worry about. The filing says the adjuster knew that was untrue.
The broader allegation is the more striking one. The complaint alleges Berkshire Hathaway Direct "trains its adjusters to ignore covered damage" and to calculate repair costs so the total falls below the deductible or outside the policy. That setup, the filing says, lets the carrier require the policyholder to do the repairs without paying for them.
The inspection itself was rushed, the complaint alleges. One paragraph says the adjuster spent less than an hour at the property; another says less than 30 minutes on the damage. The plaintiff says a proper review would have taken over an hour and a half. The complaint calls the work "outcome-oriented" and says several areas of vandalism damage were skipped.
A later estimate, according to the filing, came in well above the deductible. The plaintiff attributes the gap to the carrier overlooking covered damage and ignoring real market rates for labor and materials.
The complaint also alleges misrepresentation at the point of sale. It says the carrier's agent promised an unbiased investigation and coverage for losses, with the filing referencing "hailstorm and windstorm losses" in this section. The plaintiff says they would have bought from a different insurer had the carrier disclosed how it handles claims.
The suit brings several claims: breach of contract; breach of the duty of good faith and fair dealing; multiple violations of the Texas Insurance Code on Unfair Settlement Practices under Tex. Ins. Code §§ 541.060(a)(1), (2)(A), (3), (7) and § 541.061; non-prompt payment under § 542.058; and violations of the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act, Tex. Bus. & Comm. Code §§ 17.41-.63.
The plaintiff is seeking actual damages, treble damages under Tex. Ins. Code § 541.152, exemplary damages, ten percent annual interest under the prompt-payment statute, attorney's fees, and court costs. The complaint pleads the amount in controversy exceeds $75,000 and demands a jury.
Two oddities in the filing are worth flagging for readers. The complaint refers to "Allstate" in two paragraphs, though Berkshire Hathaway Direct is the named defendant throughout. It also leans on "hailstorm and windstorm" language in places, while the underlying event is pleaded as vandalism. Both appear to be drafting artifacts.
The allegations have not been tested in court. Berkshire Hathaway Direct has not yet filed a response, and no court has ruled.
