The case of Crothersville Lighthouse Tabernacle Church, Inc. v. Church Mutual Insurance Company, S.I., No. 22-1082 (7th Cir. March 2, 2026) is an insurance coverage matter arising out of damage caused by a fire. The insured filed a lawsuit alleging breach of contract and bad-faith denial of the insured’s replacement-cost claim after the parties disputed the cost to replace a building damaged by the fire.
The property was insured for $2.3 million, and the policy provided baseline coverage for its actual cash value, which accounts for depreciation. The policy also promised to pay higher replacement-cost benefits if the insured in fact repaired or replaced the damaged property and did so as soon as reasonably possible after the loss or damage.
The insurance company sent several checks covering additional agreed amounts, bringing its total payment on the claim to nearly $1.7 million. In the meantime, the insured church continued to dispute the insurer’s replacement-cost estimate and did not move forward to repair or replace its building.
The insurer filed for summary judgment, arguing that the insured failed to comply with its contractual obligation to repair or replace the damaged property as soon as reasonably possible and, as a result, no further payment was due. The district court granted summary judgment and plaintiff appealed.
With new counsel on appeal, the church belatedly raised an argument in response to the legal basis for the summary-judgment motion. Citing a pair of decisions from the Indiana Court of Appeals, the church maintained that it was relieved of its contractual obligation to timely rebuild. The Seventh Circuit held that this argument comes far too late, but the church still sought review and relief under the civil version of the plain-error doctrine.
The Seventh Circuit affirmed, finding that the arguments raised on appeal were forfeited because they were raised for the first time on appeal and, even if they were not, the case did not qualify for plain-error review.