I recently represented the owner of a commercial property in a hail damage claim in which the metal roof was clearly dented by hail. Remarkably, the insurance company denied the claim on the basis that the roof was still functional. In the process of working with the opposing lawyer to obtain payment, I ran across
February 2014
Punitive Damages for Failure to Pay on an Insurance Policy?
By Brandon McWherter on
Posted in Bad Faith
The issue of whether punitive damages are available to an insured when an insurance company wrongfully denies a claim was recently addressed by the Tennessee Court of Appeals in Riad v. Erie Insurance Exchange. Over the years, this issue has been confused by many state and federal courts in Tennessee, but the Riad court…