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JURY SAYS USAA CHEATED MARINE ON INSURANCE CLAIM --
Attorney who won the case said USAA "showed a
pattern
and practice of looking for ways to deny
coverage."
Story here...
http://www.latimes.com/news/pr
intedition/california/la-me-water9apr09,1,5367444.story
Story below:
-------------------------
Jury says insurance firm cheated Marine
The captain, now serving in Iraq, is awarded $3.6 million after the firm
refused to pay for water damage to his home.
By Tony Perry
Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
SAN DIEGO -- A jury Tuesday awarded $3.6 million to a Marine captain
serving in Iraq after concluding that a nationwide company that
specializes in insuring military personnel tried to cheat him out of
coverage for water damage to his Oceanside home.
The San Diego County Superior Court jury found that the United Services
Automobile Assn.'s Casualty Insurance Co. had attempted to defraud John
Colombero in its handling of his 2004 claim.
Colombero was awarded $84,000 to fix the water damage, $50,000 for
emotional damages and $3.5 million in punitive damages.
Ricardo Echeverria, the attorney representing Colombero, said the case
"showed a pattern and practice of looking for ways to deny coverage."
The most telling piece of evidence, Echeverria
said, was that the experts the insurance company used to examine
Colombero's claim were the same ones it had used in hundreds of other
cases. In almost all those cases, he said, the damage was not covered.
In Colombero's case, the issue was whether the water came from burst
pipes, a situation covered by the policy, or from bad drainage or defects,
which the company asserted was not the cause.
The Los Angeles firm of Daniels, Fine, Israel and Schonbuch, which is
representing the insurance company, did not respond to a request for
comment.
Echeverria said he expects an appeal.
Colombero, wearing civilian clothes, testified early in the trial -- but
he deployed to Iraq on his third tour days before the verdict. He is
assigned to a reconnaissance battalion.
After the verdict, he talked to jurors by phone to thank them.
"He just hopes this doesn't happen to another Marine," Echeverria said.
Jurors had not been informed during the trial that Colombero was deploying
to Iraq.
Superior Court Judge Thomas Nugent had ruled that they could not be told
lest that make them more sympathetic to his case.
Texas-based United Services Automobile Assn., which was founded by Army
officers in 1922, specializes in insurance, banking and brokerage services
for active-duty and retired military personnel.
Fitch Ratings, the credit research firm, said the insurance company
"dominates the market for military or military-related consumers." The
company is a "reciprocal" insurance exchange and pays dividends to
members. Its website says it has 6 million members.
tony.perry@latimes.com
-------------------------
posted by Larry
Scott
Founder and Editor
VA Watchdog dot Org
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