The full record
The home page tells the story. This page holds the rest of the documents, for anyone who wants to check the detail.
"Nobody at Costco knows"
Costco's attorney was telling the judge about how the leak happened: "what leaked, where, when, and who and how, of which nobody at Costco knows. Not even their high-ranking executives, but not even their local people would know any of that."
That is a statement about the installation, not about the claim. So it raises two separate questions. Who at Costco knew about the claim? And what did Costco do to find out how the leak happened?
Who at Costco knew about the claim
Costco's own Logistics Claims Department opens a claim
"Damage claim number 241202-036090 has been assigned to your file. We have notified our provider, who will be handling your claim directly. [...] Costco Logistics is committed to handling your claim as quickly and fairly as possible."
Costco - Logistics Claims Department. The email's subject line: "Property Damage - Installer Claim Created."
The chief executive, and four others at Costco he copied
Costco's CEO answers the customer within the hour. His reply also goes to four other people at Costco, including the vice president of logistics who would later swear he had no unique knowledge of the matter.
Costco's claims administrator opens a file
"I am sending you this email today in regard to a claim that has been reported to Costco Wholesale."
Gallagher Bassett, "the third party administrator for Costco Wholesale Corporation"
Costco's administrator receives the family's inspection report
Its reply: "Received."
Costco's administrator is told the installer was uninsured
A Costco vice president cites "our records"
"Our records indicate that December 31, 2024, you instructed RXO and Sedgwick to work directly with your public adjuster."
Tony Dattilo, Vice President, Costco Logistics
Costco's administrator asks for an update "to inform Costco"
"We would like to inform Costco and update our file accordingly."
Gallagher Bassett resolution manager
The family's full estimate is sent to Costco's vice president
The public adjuster's damage estimate goes to RXO's claims administrator with Costco's vice president of logistics and Costco's claims administrator copied.
Costco's executives meet RXO's about the claim
"RXO executive leadership is with Costco executive leadership today in meetings and I know this claim is being discussed."
RXO's claims manager
"Costco Management" consults lawyers about "the Byrd claim" five times
Costco's own privilege log lists five communications between "Costco Management" and legal counsel "re: Byrd claim": March 27, March 31, May 5, May 7 and September 22, 2025.
A standing weekly review of every open claim
"Innovel's manager and Logistics Provider's manager are required to meet once per week to review claims."
Costco-Innovel's agreement with RXO, claims procedures. Innovel is Costco's logistics subsidiary.
What Costco did to find out how it happened
Thirteen months after the flood, Costco's logistics subsidiary answered the family's written questions under oath. The answers were signed by a claims specialist who, Costco noted, "has no firsthand knowledge of the facts or circumstances of Plaintiff's claim."
Interrogatory 9: have you or anyone on your behalf interviewed any person concerning the incident?
- No.
Interrogatory 8: have you or anyone acting on your behalf inspected the scene of the incident?
- None, other than RXO's investigation.
Interrogatory 10: describe in detail how the incident happened.
- Costco did not install the subject refrigerator and is in
- the process of investigating how the incident happened,
- as discovery is just starting.
Eighth Affirmative Defense.
- Costco did everything a reasonably careful distributor,
- supplier, or retailer would have done under like
- circumstances
Questions the record does not answer
- If nobody at Costco knows how the leak happened, is that because nobody at Costco asked?
- The chief executive, a vice president, the claims department, the claims administrator and "Costco Management" all dealt with this claim. In thirteen months, why did none of them interview anyone or look at the house?
- Is that what "everything a reasonably careful retailer would have done" looks like?
The affidavit Costco used to keep its executive from being questioned
The family asked to question the Costco vice president who handled their claim. Costco filed his sworn statement to stop it. These are the facts on the face of that document and in the public record.
What the certificate says
This is the last page of the affidavit Costco filed on August 5, 2026.
- Affidavit of Tony Dattilo, Exhibit C to the motion (DIN 74, pages 32 to 34)
- Costco's Motion for Protective Order, filed August 5, 2026 (DIN 74)
On the face of the document
- The executive's signature is a DocuSign electronic signature. Every page carries a DocuSign envelope number.
- The certificate says "State of Illinois, County of DuPage."
- The stamp is a Florida notary's.
- The certificate says the executive "personally appeared," is "personally known to me," and "executed the foregoing in my presence."
- The executive swears in the same affidavit that he works at Costco's logistics office in Addison, Illinois.
- The notary is copied on the case correspondence at the email address of the Jacksonville, Florida law firm that represents Costco.
- The certificate is dated August 5, 2026, the same day the motion was filed.
The sequence
Costco files the affidavit
It is Exhibit C to Costco's motion to prevent the deposition of its vice president of logistics.
Costco replaces it
"the supplemental affidavit was locally notarized to cure Plaintiffs' objection to Mr. Dattilo's initial affidavit"
Costco's notice of filing
A complaint is filed with the Governor's Office
The complaint asks the Notary Section to determine where the notary and the executive were, whether he appeared, and whether an oath was given. It states: "Electronic signing is not itself improper."
Costco's attorney relies on the affidavit in court
"we believe the affidavit of Tony Dattilo satisfies the [...] prima facie showing that he needed to make under the rule"
Kevin Jakab, Costco's attorney, at 20:23 of the hearing
By this date the replacement affidavit was on file, and it is the one the court had before it. Costco's notice says its substance "remains unchanged." The questions on this page concern how the first one was notarized.
The same day, the Governor's Office opens an investigation
"Based upon your complaint, this office has initiated an investigation of possible violations of Chapter 117, Florida Statutes. [The notary] is now required to provide a sworn written response to each of the matters under investigation by this office."
Notary Section, Executive Office of the Governor
Questions the record does not answer
- Where was the executive, whose office is in Illinois, when a notary at a Jacksonville law firm certified that he personally appeared before her?
- Why does a certificate stamped by a Florida notary say it was made in Illinois?
- Why would a vice president of a $440 billion company sign beneath a statement that he personally appeared, if he did not?
- What was the basis for certifying that he was "personally known" to the notary?
- Why was the affidavit replaced eight days later?
The Governor's Office has made no finding. Its letter says the investigation's purpose is to evaluate the notary's fitness to serve, and that the office cannot file criminal charges or void a document. An investigation is not a determination that anyone did anything wrong.
What the replacement looks like
Eight days later Costco filed the same affidavit again. This one was notarized in Illinois on August 8, 2026, three days after the first. Three things on the certificate changed.
- The executive's signature is handwritten in ink. The first was a DocuSign electronic signature.
- The Illinois notary did not write that the executive was personally known to him. He wrote that the executive produced a driver's license as identification.
- The printed "County of DuPage" is struck through and "Cook" is written in by hand.
On the first certificate, a Florida notary at the office of Costco's attorney circled "personally known to me."
What the affidavit swears, and what the executive wrote at the time
The affidavit dates the executive's involvement to "circa February 2025." Costco's chief executive addressed his reply to him on December 2, 2024, the day of the flood.
Tony Dattilo, under oath.
- However, circa February 2025, upon request of Costco's CEO,
- I had courtesy phone and email communication with Bradley
- Byrd [...] The information above is the corpus of knowledge
- I have of this matter.
Tony Dattilo, to the customer, a month before 'circa February 2025.'
- Our records indicate that December 31, 2024, you instructed
- RXO and Sedgwick to work directly with your public adjuster.
- [...] I am the Vice President over Costco Logistics. [...]
- I will be in communication with RXO until your claim
- is resolved. Please feel free to contact me directly.
RXO's claims manager, to the family's adjuster.
- RXO executive leadership is with Costco executive leadership
- today in meetings and I know this claim is being discussed.
What the court ordered Costco to produce
The family asked Costco for its communications about the flood and the claim, and asked the court to order them produced. These are the public filings, in order.
The court granted the family's motion and ordered Costco to supplement its responses.
- in particular, non-privileged (a) communications between
- Costco, its officers, or its employees and Defendant RXO
- Last Mile, Inc. or its representatives relating to the
- December 2, 2024 incident or Plaintiffs' claim
From Costco's supplemental response, filed two weeks later.
- the Court did not order production of claims files/claims
- communications.
The family's request for the attorney's fees it spent obtaining the order was reserved by the court. Whether Costco's response satisfies the order has not been decided.
More statements from the hearing
October 28, 2026. Each one plays from the court's recording.
"nobody at Costco knows. Not even their high-ranking executives, but not even their local people would know any of that."
Kevin Jakab, Costco's attorney. October 28, 2026.
He was speaking about how the leak happened, not about the claim. Thirteen months after the flood, Costco's sworn answers said it had interviewed no one and inspected nothing.
"That's the universe of discovery in a case like this."
Kevin Jakab, Costco's attorney. October 28, 2026.
Costco's attorney describing what he considers the proper limits of evidence-gathering. Eight weeks earlier the same judge had ordered Costco to produce its communications with RXO about the incident and the claim.
"to prevent plaintiffs from artificially creating litigation leverage"
Kevin Jakab, Costco's attorney. October 28, 2026.
On why the plaintiffs asked to question the Costco vice president who wrote to them, "I will be in communication with RXO until your claim is resolved."
"we will focus on getting the problem fixed if our people caused it."
Kevin Jakab, Costco's attorney. October 28, 2026.
Costco's attorney reading to the judge from the email Costco's chief executive sent the plaintiff on the day of the flood. Minutes earlier he had told the judge the loss was not Costco's responsibility.
"He's made that conclusion without the benefit of any discovery whatsoever"
Jack Webb, the plaintiffs' attorney. October 28, 2026.
The plaintiffs' attorney responding to Costco's argument.