Among other things, the insurer wanted the Plaintiff to sign waivers and obtain court-appointed guardians for the descendant’s minor children.
In court documents, the Plaintiff said that the Defendant threatened that if the plaintiff did not comply with their requirements she could “waive her rights to the claim so that Defendant could disburse the proceeds to the minor children.”
Plaintiff Filed Suit Against Insurer
As a result, the Plaintiff filed suit against the insurer for refusal to pay on the policy and for bad faith claims relating to the mishandling of the claim.
Eventually, the life insurance policy was paid out, but a jury proceeded to hear Plaintiff’s “claims for common law breach of contract, statutory bad faith, and common law punitive damages based on breach of contract.”
The Plaintiff Prevails at Trial
This jury found in favor of the Plaintiff and awarded $350,000 in compensatory damages and an additional $87,500 for the specific claim of bad faith, plus $3,000,000 in punitive damages.
