Tenn. Lesbian Couple Whose Home Burned Down Accused of Arson by Insurance Co.

A Tennessee lesbian couple who filed a lawsuit in February claiming a former neighbor set fire to their home in September of 2010, Carol Ann and Laura Stutte, have been accused by their insurance company of setting the fire themselves.

The couple was out of town celebrating their 16th anniversary last September, only to return to find their home of over five years burned to the ground and their free-standing garage vandalized with the word "queers" spray-painted across it.

The suit from September 2010 claims their neighbor Janice Millsaps caused the fire, and for asks $880,000 for the loss of their house and the value of the property, in addition to pain and suffering.

On May 13, the American National Property and Casualty Company filed a federal lawsuit against the Stuttes claiming that their investigation determined that the Stuttes started the fire that consumed their own home, according to The Daily News. The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office has not filed any criminal charges relating to the fire.

Lewis Kinnard, Janice Millsaps’ attorney, says the case against his client will most likely not be heard until the federal case as been decided. “Now their own insurance company is filing a claim against them,” Kinnard said. “The outcome of the federal case might settle things here in this case.”

The insurance company has denied the Stuttes’ $276,275.46 damage claim. Margaret Held, the Stuttes’ attorney in the lawsuit against Millsaps, says the couple has 20 days from when the suit against them was filed to respond. “The Stuttes are owed $264,000 by ANPAC for the loss of their home,” Held said. “That’s how much the property was insured for.”

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