Those traveling through Toledo over the past few days have likely seen this 12-foot sign installed in front of the partially destroyed Thys Automotive dealership. The owner of the property placed the sign to inform residents of legal action he has taken against his insurance company after the derecho damaged the building on Aug. 10. Darvin Graham/News Chronicle

The owner of a cornerstone property along Toledo’s main business intersection has taken its insurance company to court three months after the derecho storm partially demolished its facility.

The former Thys Chevrolet dealership in Toledo took catastrophic damage to its 11,000 square-foot showroom and service center building during the storm. Straight-line winds that topped 125 mph on August 10 also completely demolished a 4,300 square-foot warehouse located south of the dealership’s main building.

Damage estimates for the Toledo property are unclear, however the lawsuit is claiming damages of at least $932,000 for the buildings as well as assets still housed inside the facility.

Thys Chevrolet permanently closed the Toledo location on Oct. 9, 2019 after occupying the space for nearly a decade.

According to the lawsuit filed last month, Thys Chevrolet entered into an insurance agreement with Federated Insurance, a Minnesota based corporation, in August of 2019 to cover several of its properties.

The vacant Thys Chevrolet building during the week of the August derecho. The metal scraps blown across Highway 63 were largely from the 4,300 square-foot warehouse on the Thys property that was completely destroyed in the storm. -- News Chronicle File Photo

The lawsuit complaint alleges that a representative for Federated Insurance visited Thys Chevrolet owner Joel Thys in March of 2020 to conduct a policy review. The review uncovered multiple instances where Thys was paying premiums for buildings that he no longer owned.

The complaint states that Thys said he no longer wanted to pay for such insurance coverage but that the company needed coverage on the properties they still owned.

He went on to say that several buildings at the Toledo location were scheduled to be sold to a third-party buyer with an anticipated closing date of June 1, 2020.

The complaint states that Thys discussed with the Federated representative that June 1 would likely be the final date the property in Toledo would need insurance coverage and that he did not want a repeat situation of what happened with his other properties earlier in the year.

The anticipated property sale date passed with no transaction having occurred. The lawsuit complaint filed by Thys states only that “certain delays forced the closing date of the sale of the buildings to the third party to be pushed back”. Thys Chevrolet is still the owner of the dealership property in Toledo.

Thys alleges in the lawsuit that Federated Insurance made no follow-up communication after the policy review meeting in March but that in July of 2020 were informed that the buildings in Toledo were still under Thys Chevrolet ownership when the company prepared to renew its policies.

After the storm damaged the property in August, Thys filed an insurance claim that was later denied by Federated Insurance.

The News Chronicle contacted the attorney representing Federated Insurance seeking a statement regarding the situation, however no response was given.

In September the complaint says Thys spoke with a Regional Claims Manager regarding the situation who offered to pay Thys Chevrolet for its cost to remove the damaged materials from the property but that no additional reimbursement payments would be made to make the company whole on the loss from the storm.

In response Thys filed a lawsuit claiming Federated Insurance breached its contract and its fiduciary duty with Thys Chevrolet. The lawsuit seeks a minimum of $932,000 in damages and for the case to be tried by a jury.

Thys also erected a 12-foot sign in front of the facility pleading his case with the public driving by.

The case originally filed in Tama County court has recently been moved to U.S. District Court due to the high dollar amount being sought in the claim.

Thys Chevrolet is being represented by BrownWinnick Law Firm of Des Moines while Federated Insurance is being represented by Ahlers & Cooney PC, also of Des Moines.

While the court case is still in the early stages, it is unclear how long the damaged property or the road sign will remain at the highway intersection in Toledo.