A MS couple paid $55K for a stolen truck. Here’s why they’re suing Nationwide Insurance.

A Pass Christian couple filed suit this week against Nationwide Insurance, claiming the company is refusing to pay a legitimate claim for the loss of a $55,000 truck.

Thyrone and Luella Williams want a judge to order the insurance company to pay both actual and punitive damages.

Thyrone Williams says in the suit he was shopping for a truck in October 2021 and became aware of a 2019 GMC Sierra Denali for sale in North Carolina. He went there to see the truck and asked a dealer to run the VIN number for issues. It came back clean.

He then called Nationwide to arrange for an insurance policy, which the company wrote. Upon his return to Mississippi, Williams went to the tax assessor’s office, which again checked the VIN and issued him a title for the vehicle.

In February 2022, however, the Harrison County Sheriff’s Office confiscated the truck, saying it was stolen.

Williams then filed a claim with Nationwide, who denied it because “the vehicle did not suffer a direct and accidental loss.” In the suit filed in Harrison County Circuit Court, the Williamses argue Nationwide’s does not define “accidental loss,” and “the confiscation of Mr. Williams’ truck by law enforcement officials meets the generally accepted definition of those terms.”

A lawsuit represents only side of a legal argument. Nationwide has yet to respond to the suit.