In June of this year, Judge Tom Anderson joined the ranks of other judges in Tennessee that have held that punitive damages can be awarded against an insurance company for breach of an insurance contract, if the breach was intentional, malicious, reckless, or malicious. The case was Carroll v. Nationwide Property & Casualty Company,
punitive damages
Cosmetic Damage – Honest Disagreement or Reckless Misbehavior?
By Brandon McWherter on
Posted in Bad Faith, Coverage Issues
Insurance companies are increasingly denying claims based on engineering reports that there is “no functional damage” (damage which impairs the functionality of the roof) and that the damage is “cosmetic only.” For example, if a hail storm comes through and wreaks havoc on a metal roof to a home, it might still be functional even…
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…