- September 22 2017
- | Firm News

Reimers, et al. v. Everest Indemnity Insurance Co. – $4.5 million verdict in class action bad faith insurance case
Plaintiff attorneys: Robert Maddox of Robert C. Maddox & Associates and Patrick Leverty of Leverty & Associates Law Chtd.
Link to video of the trial:
http://cvn.com/proceedings/elizabeth-reimers-et-al-v-everest-indemnity-insurance-co-trial-2015-02-02
Why it made the cut:
Getting a class action all the way to a jury trial is no small feat, but a class action that (almost) goes to a punitive damages phase is certainly enough to land this case arising from a bad faith insurance dispute on our Top 10 list. The class consisted of hundreds of homeowners who suffered flood damage after a levee collapse, which Everest denied coverage for under an earth movement exclusion.
The case settled on the eve of a punitive damages phase after the jury returned a $4.5 million compensatory award. Prior to the settlement being announced, plaintiffs’ attorney Bob Maddox told CVN his team would be pursuing a “substantial” punitive damages award but declined to comment on the potential amount.
Everest’s close call with a class action punitive damages award could have an impact on when other insurers similarly invoke earth movement exclusions to deny coverage.