A Kentucky jury ordered this insurance company to pay $15.3 million. It will appeal.
The jury handed down the verdict late last month, compelling the company to pay the heirs of a family that owned mineral rights for a
In 2007, about 80 people who inherited mineral rights to the property brought the case against natural gas drilling companies
While most of the wells retrieved miniscule amounts of gas, one extracted about
J.D. Carty reached an agreement in 2008 to pay the owners for the gas, but failed to pay, said
Carty could not be reached for comment.
When Carty failed to pay, the liability for payments fell to
The insurance company, however, argued in court that its policy with Carty did not cover the damages caused by the removal of the gas, so it refused to pay.
The case slogged along until last year, when the court retrieved internal documents from Greenwich that allegedly showed the company's policy with Carty covered trespassing cases, Mehr said.
Mehr argues the trespassing clause makes the company liable for damages, but
"Obviously we fully disagree with that conclusion," Maines said of the jury decision. "We fully expect it to be overturned."
Mehr and Fairbanks said the internal documents -- which include an opinion letter recommending that the company provide coverage -- show the company knew its policy covered the damages, but that Greenwich "intentionally misrepresented" the details of its policy to Carty and the court.
"The proof we put on at trial was they weren't disclosing to J.D. Carty what they knew internally, that he had coverage," Fairbanks said.
In addition, Mehr said the company sought ways to delay the case, including two attempts to move the case to federal court. "They just delayed it at every turn," Mehr said.
Mehr has previously represented clients in at least a dozen bad-faith insurance cases in
The
Maines, also based in
___
(c)2018 the Lexington Herald-Leader (Lexington, Ky.)
Visit the Lexington Herald-Leader (Lexington, Ky.) at www.kentucky.com
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Lawyer: Ballistics Report Raises Question About Whether Nathan Carman’s Missing Gun Is Murder Weapon
The Latest: Hurricane Michael gaining strength in Gulf
Advisor News
Annuity News
Health/Employee Benefits News
Life Insurance News