Byrd v. Costco Wholesale Corporation, St. Johns County, Florida, Case No. 2025-CA-001320
Installation included. Responsibility not included.
Costco sold a refrigerator with delivery and installation. The crew that came to install it had no insurance. The installation flooded a Florida family's home the same day. What follows is what Costco's chief executive wrote that evening, and what Costco's attorney told a judge 695 days later.
Ron Vachris, chief executive of Costco, by email on the day of the flood. Costco later filed this email in court itself.
- I am very sorry to hear that this happened to you.
- I will get our logistics teams involved right away.
- [...] we will focus on getting this problem fixed
- if our people caused it.
Kevin Jakab, attorney for Costco, to the judge at a hearing in St. Johns County.
- Costco is two levels removed from the who, what,
- where, when, or how the leak occurred. Because once
- the refrigerator is picked up, it's not Costco's
- responsibility, it is the vendor's responsibility.
Costco chose the company that delivers and installs what Costco sells. The customer chose Costco. So who are "our people"?
707 days since the flood. No court has ruled on who is responsible. Trial is set for March 2027.
"If our people caused it"
Costco's chief executive made a promise with a condition. Two years of Costco's own emails and filings show how that condition has been read.
What Costco tells shoppers
From Costco's appliances page, under the heading 'Why Buy Appliances at Costco?'
- Delivery & Installation* INCLUDED
- Haul Away* INCLUDED
- Basic Installation Parts* INCLUDED
- *Online purchases only. For most members. On select appliances.
The same day: "our provider"
Costco's own claims department wrote to the customer that afternoon. Its chief executive said "our people." Its claims department said "our provider." Two years later its attorney would tell a judge "our vendor."
Costco - Logistics Claims Department, by email. Subject: 'Property Damage - Installer Claim Created.'
- Damage claim number 241202-036090 has been assigned to your
- file. We have notified our provider, who will be handling
- your claim directly. They will contact you within the next
- 48 hours [...] Costco Logistics is committed to handling
- your claim as quickly and fairly as possible.
The next day: "the installation by Costco"
RXO is the company Costco hired to deliver and install. This is how RXO described the job to the customer, in writing, the day after his home flooded.
RXO's operations lead in Jacksonville, by email.
- I'm contacting you regarding your claim of damage during
- the installation by Costco. [...] It's important to clarify
- that Costco contracts RXO for deliveries, and RXO, in turn,
- hire third-party contractors [...]. You'll liaise with them
- to settle the claim.
The third-party contractor's crew was copied on this email at personal email addresses. Their names are left out here.
Twelve weeks later: "your claim is with RXO"
Tony Dattilo, Vice President, Costco Logistics, by letter. Costco filed this letter in court.
- I am writing to remind you that your claim is with RXO,
- and any correspondence regarding your claim should be
- directed to RXO.
The plaintiff's reply the same day, also filed in court by Costco.
- My claim is with Costco. I have no contract with RXO.
- Costco does. Costco contracted with RXO to install an
- appliance I purchase from Costco.com, I did not.
What Costco has admitted
Requests for admission 2 and 3, and Costco's answers. 'CIS' is Costco-Innovel Solutions.
- 2. Admit that Costco contracted the delivery and
- installation of the Refrigerator to its wholly-owned
- subsidiary, CIS. Admitted.
- 3. Admit that CIS further sub-contracted the delivery and
- installation of the Refrigerator to RXO. Admitted.
Costco's response to request for admission 5.
- Admitted that RXO handled the delivery and installation
- of the refrigerator, otherwise denied, as phrased.
Questions the record does not answer
- When Costco's chief executive wrote "our people," did he mean the company Costco hired to install what Costco sells?
- If RXO calls it "the installation by Costco," why does Costco call it someone else's responsibility?
- A customer who buys from Costco cannot choose the installer. Who can?
What Costco's attorney told the judge
On October 28, 2026 a Florida judge heard Costco's motion to stop the family from questioning a Costco vice president. These are the words said in open court. Each one plays from the court's recording.
"once the refrigerator is picked up, it's not Costco's responsibility, it is the vendor's responsibility."
Kevin Jakab, Costco's attorney. October 28, 2026.
Costco's attorney was describing the case to the judge at the start of his argument. The refrigerator was bought from Costco with delivery and installation. It was installed in the plaintiffs' home on December 2, 2024.
"Evidently, they do not connect a hose. The refrigerator leaks."
Kevin Jakab, Costco's attorney. October 28, 2026.
Costco's own attorney describing to the judge what happened. In its court filings Costco still calls the leak "alleged."
"a $440 billion market cap corporation, an international corporation that is 13th on the Fortune 500 list."
Kevin Jakab, Costco's attorney. October 28, 2026.
Said while arguing that a Costco vice president should not have to answer questions under oath. Counsel for the plaintiffs told the judge a two-hour deposition by Zoom would be enough.
"Costco's not responsible for the loss. RXO is."
Kevin Jakab, Costco's attorney. October 28, 2026.
Said before a single deposition had been taken in the case. The plaintiffs' attorney answered that counsel had "jump[ed] right to the summary judgment phase" without any discovery.
"if there was something that leaked or something that went wrong, we will try to work it out."
Kevin Jakab, Costco's attorney. October 28, 2026.
Costco's attorney telling the judge what Costco's vice president of logistics said to the customer. He calls RXO "our vendor." The claim has not been worked out.
Watch the full hearing, 23 minutes More statements from the hearing
Quotations are taken from a machine transcript of the court's recording, checked against a second transcript. If you find a word that differs from what you hear, tell us and it will be corrected.
Who Costco sends to your house
When you buy an appliance from Costco with installation, you choose Costco. You do not choose who comes through your door. In this case it was a crew with no insurance.
Quoted words are RXO's, from its email to the customer of December 3, 2024.
The crew that installed Costco's refrigerator had no insurance
None. Costco's own contract requires every installer to carry at least $3,000,000 in coverage. The crew sent into this family's home carried nothing. Costco was told in writing in December 2024, again in January 2025 and again in February 2025. It has never produced a certificate of insurance for them.
The customer, to the claims administrator for Costco.
- I received a call yesterday alerting me that the third party
- installation company was uninsured.
The customer, to Costco's vice president of logistics.
- I am angry that the contractor that came out to my house
- was uninsured.
Asked for the name of the uninsured installer, RXO's claims manager gives it. A Costco vice president is copied.
- 2. Legal name and address of the company RXO subcontracted
- to do the installation that was uninsured.
- Deliver It Right LLC
The company RXO named, Deliver It Right LLC, is now listed in Florida's corporate records as administratively dissolved.
Costco's contract with RXO requires every subcontractor to carry at least $3,000,000 in liability insurance, and gives Costco alone the results of every installer's background check. Read what the contract lets Costco control.
What Costco and RXO say about their own insurance
Costco says it is self-insured. RXO says it is self-insured "to a certain point." The crew that did the work had no insurance at all.
Gallagher Bassett, the day after the flood.
- Gallagher Basset Services is the third party administrator
- for Costco Wholesale Corporation. Costco Wholesale is
- self-insured.
RXO's claims manager, asked whether RXO had sent the claim to an insurer.
- RXO carries a self-insured policy to a certain point.
- Sedgwick is RXO's third party administrator for claims.
Questions the record does not answer
- Who at Costco checks that the people it sends into customers' homes are insured?
- How many other Costco deliveries were made by crews with no insurance?
Told to stop work. Then thirteen days of silence over Christmas.
What happened to a Costco customer in the seven weeks after a Costco installation flooded the first floor of his home, in the words of the people handling the claim.
One day, sixteen days, eighty-one days
The family had an independent certified industrial hygienist in the house the morning after the flood. Her written protocol was in the hands of Costco's claims administrator by 1:25 that afternoon. Its reply: "Received."
The family's own inspection and written report
Done and delivered the day after the flood.
The family is told to wait for a second inspection
"We ask that you hold off on any additional demolition until EFI has a chance to inspect and provide a protocol."
Adjuster for Sedgwick, RXO's claims administrator
Their inspector arrives, and the adjuster calls the house livable
The inspector is from EFI Global, which Sedgwick calls "a division of Sedgwick." That afternoon, with no report and no lab result, Sedgwick's adjuster writes that the home "is inhabitable at this point." The only report in existence, the family's own from day 1, said the family had to leave. Lab results are promised for "Friday or Monday."
Their review arrives
It reaches the family's adjuster attached to the offer, 67 days after the family was told to stop work and wait for it.
A family got an inspection and a written report in one day. RXO, a company with $5.7 billion in annual revenue, and the claims administrator it pays took sixteen days to send an inspector and eighty-one to deliver his findings. In between, they asked the family to stop rebuilding and wait.
Source: Fortune, RXO company profile
Then both companies told the court the family failed to act
The family was told in writing on December 16, 2024 to stop work and wait. A year later, Costco and RXO each answered the lawsuit by saying the family did not do enough, soon enough, to limit the damage.
Costco - Logistics Claims Department, the day of the flood.
- Take the necessary steps to mitigate your damages [...]
- Please be advised that the unit needs to remain in the home
- until all inspections have been completed. Failure to do
- this may jeopardize your damage claim.
Adjuster for Sedgwick, RXO's claims administrator, in writing.
- We ask that you hold off on any additional demolition
- until EFI has a chance to inspect and provide a protocol.
- We need to come to an agreement on scope and price prior to
- you moving forward with further demo and/or repairs.
Costco's Fourth Affirmative Defense.
- Plaintiffs have failed to mitigate their damages by failing
- to timely detect and lesson their alleged damages, and to the
- extent Plaintiffs have failed to do so, Plaintiffs are barred
- from recovering those damages
RXO's Fifth Affirmative Defense.
- Plaintiffs failed to mitigate their damages [...] The
- failure to mitigate includes [...] failing to act timely and
- reasonably in preventing additional damages alleged in this
- case. In addition, the Plaintiff incurred unreasonable
- and/or unnecessary expenses in the remediation
"Lesson" is as written in Costco's filing.
Questions the record does not answer
- How does a family fail to act "timely" during the weeks it was asked, in writing, to stop and wait?
- The family's own report was delivered in one day. Whose delay was the other eighty?
Costco told the court it had "no control." This is its contract.
Costco's defense is that the installation was done by people it could not control. Costco filed its own agreement with RXO in court. Read them side by side.
Costco's Second Affirmative Defense.
- Plaintiffs' alleged damages, if any, were caused or
- contributed by the negligence or wrongful acts or omissions
- of persons and/or entities over whom Costco had no control
- or right to control and for whom Defendant is not
- responsible.
What Costco's contract says
The agreement is between RXO and Costco-Innovel Solutions, Costco's logistics subsidiary, called "Innovel." Where the contract says "Costco," it defines that as Costco Wholesale and Innovel together.
Costco decides, person by person, who may work on its deliveries.
- Costco will have sole access to the results of the
- background checks described above and will conduct an
- individualized assessment in accordance with the law
- before making any decisions as to an individual's ability
- to perform services for Innovel.
After 30 days, Costco's side can settle the claim itself and send RXO the bill.
- Innovel or its Client may, after notifying Logistics
- Provider, attempt to settle any claim that remains
- unresolved for more than 30 days after notice, and
- Logistics Provider will reimburse Innovel and its Client
- their reasonable costs of doing so, including the costs of
- negotiating and the settlement amount.
Costco's subsidiary can take over the defense of any claim, and nothing settles without its consent.
- Logistics Provider may settle Claims with Innovel's
- written consent. [...] If Innovel elects to participate
- in the defense of a Claim, it will have the right to select
- counsel, control the defense, and settle Claims, and
- Logistics Provider shall pay for all defense costs and
- expenses as they are incurred.
Every settlement RXO reaches with a customer must also release Costco.
- On all monetary settlements over $1,000, Logistics Provider
- shall obtain a release listing "Costco Wholesale Corp. and
- its subsidiaries and affiliate companies" as an additional
- released party.
Under that 30-day clause, Costco's side has been free to settle this claim itself, at RXO's expense, for 676 days.
Questions the record does not answer
- If Costco alone sees each installer's background check and decides who may work, how does it have "no control or right to control" them?
- Costco's contract let its side settle this claim after 30 days and send RXO the bill. It has been more than 700 days. Why hasn't it?
- The February 2025 offer asked the family to release Costco's subsidiary too. Who at Costco approved it?
- If the installation is not Costco's responsibility, why must every settlement release Costco?
- If RXO pays for Costco's defense, what does it cost Costco to keep fighting?
What Costco's attorney said about the plaintiff's wife
This case is about a refrigerator installation that flooded a house. This is what the plaintiff says he was told about his wife while testifying under oath.
Bradley Byrd was deposed by Costco's attorney, Kevin Jakab. Under questioning, Mr. Byrd told him that his wife was born in Russia. Mr. Byrd says this was the attorney's response:
- "So your wife is a mail order bride."
Anna Byrd is a plaintiff in the case. Her home was flooded too.
What it costs a customer to hold Costco to its word
Costco's attorney told a judge his client is a $440 billion company. This is what it has cost one of its customers since a Costco installation flooded his home.
These are two different kinds of money, and they are kept apart here on purpose. The first is the damage itself, which a court can order paid if it is proved. The second is what it costs to pursue the claim at all.
The damage: what a court can award
| Rebuilding the house | $244,656 |
| Drying out, remediation and storage of contents | $111,023 |
| Belongings damaged | $85,177 |
| Living somewhere else while the house was unlivable | $80,710 |
| Mileage | $1,021 |
| Interest at Florida's statutory rate, December 2, 2024 to November 9, 2026Simple interest, not compounded, at the rates published by Florida's Chief Financial Officer: 9.5% for 2024, 9.38% for 2025, 8.44% for 2026. | $90,790 |
Based on invoices, receipts and professional estimates. Costco and RXO dispute the amounts. Interest is this site's calculation under section 55.03, Florida Statutes; the court decides what interest is awarded.
The fight: what the customer absorbs
| Attorney's fees paid so farGenerally not recoverable in Florida unless a statute or contract provides for them. | $31,160 |
| Public adjuster's feeAs presented in the claim in February 2025. RXO's claims administrator wrote that it had not considered it. Whether it is recoverable is disputed. | $116,942 |
| The same statutory rate applied to these fees, to November 9, 2026A benchmark, not money paid out. Simple interest at Florida's published rates, counted on the adjuster's fee from December 31, 2024, the day the adjuster was hired, and on attorney's fees from August 19, 2025, one month before the lawsuit was filed (a payment made in October 2026 is counted from that month). A court does not award this. | $22,189 |
This column exists because the claim was not paid. The family hired a public adjuster on December 31, 2024, after thirteen days without contact, and an attorney after the offer below.
Together
Damage, interest and the cost of the fight
Paid so far, on RXO's behalf
Still unpaid
What has been paid, and what was offered
Paid
Paid on January 21, 2025, fifty days after the flood, on RXO's behalf by its claims administrator, which called it "a good-faith partial payment" for initial out-of-pocket expenses.
Offered
Offered on February 21, 2025 by RXO's claims administrator, on top of the payment, in exchange for a release of RXO and Costco-Innovel. The family declined.
Paid by Costco
Costco's disclosure of insurance available to cover a judgment: "None for amount in controversy."
Who Costco's attorney says his client is
Kevin Jakab, to the judge.
- ...in this case, of a $440 billion market cap corporation,
- an international corporation that is 13th on the Fortune
- 500 list.
Costco's response
Most of this page is in Costco's own words: its emails, its court filings, its contract and its attorney's statements to a judge. Costco is invited to answer any of it.
The five principles Costco publishes as its Code of Ethics.
- Obey the law
- Take care of our members
- Take care of our employees
- Respect our suppliers
- Reward our shareholders
Costco is invited to respond to everything on this site. Its answer will be published here in full, unedited.
No response received.
The rest of the record
Who at Costco knew about the claim, the affidavit Costco filed to keep its executive from being questioned and the state investigation that followed, the court's order on documents, and more from the hearing.