Arizona Jury Punishes Insurance Company to the Tune of $55 Million Dollars Because the Company Refused to Cover a $30,400 Dollar Claim For a Couple Whose SUV Was Stolen and Vandalized
Hats off to an Arizona jury who sent a loud and clear message to Met Life for refusing to cover the claim of Kenneth and Tammy Nardeli whose Ford Explorer was stolen from a Mesa, Arizona shopping mall and found abandoned and severely damaged weeks later in Mexico. Although the Nardelis said the vehicle was a total loss and could never be restored to its original condition, Met Life refused to replace the car and instead issued them a check for $10,759.00 while stopping payments for their rental car. Richard Gillenberg, the attorney for the Nardelis, stated that Met Life was determined to boost profits within its Warwick, RI based auto and home division and that the company told its adjusters to get tough on claims. The lawsuit accused Met Life of a deliberate scheme to deny the Nardelis their rights under their insurance policy.
The Philadelphia unfair insurance practices law firm and bad faith insurance law firm of Reiff and Bily is all too familiar with tactics such as these and currently have cases in litigation against insurance companies who place profits before policyholders’ interests and breach the fiduciary obligation to deal in good faith.
Unfortunately, seemingly the motto at many insurance companies in this country is deny, delay and defend until the insured cries uncle or hires a lawyer with enough gumption and strength to take them on. Even then, the insurance companies throw road blocks in their way and as one of our recent cases will attest, they will take some of the most unconscionable steps imaginable to prevent an insured from recovering full benefits under the policy that they paid for with their hard earned dollars.
If you or a loved one is the victim of an insurance company’s unfair claims practice or a bad faith dispute or believe that your insurance company is not treating you fairly, please contact one of our experienced unfair insurance claim practices or bad faith insurance lawyers for a free consultation.
