Jan. 26--As Gov. Nathan Deal toured tornado ravaged counties in southwest Georgia, his phone rang.

It was President Donald Trump.

Deal said it was his second conversation with Trump about the deadly storms that killed 15 people in the state in the first two full days of the president's administration.

"We've had other tragedies in the past," said Deal, who is in his seventh year as governor. "This is the first time I've spoken to a president about these kind of circumstances."

Trump told Deal federal disaster assistance has been approved to help Georgia recover from tornadoes, severe storms and straight-line winds on Jan. 2, the state's first bout of severe weather this year.

"My team tells me we've approved your application in record time," Trump told Deal on the phone.

The disaster declaration makes federal funding available for temporary housing, repairs and low-cost loans for uninsured property losses, and other recovery efforts in Dougherty County.

Funds also are available to state and local governments and some nonprofit organizations to share costs of the disaster in Dougherty, Baker, Calhoun, Dougherty, Early, Mitchell, Turner and Worth counties.

Individuals and business owners who suffered losses in designated disaster areas can apply for assistance by calling 800-621-FEMA, or register online at FEMA's website.

The state is gathering data to secure recovery assistance after last weekend's storms that demolished parts of Albany and Adel.

Wednesday, Deal toured the damage by air and on land.

"It is almost breathtaking and it's amazing that we did not have more loss of life than actually occurred," Deal said.

Rep. Sanford Bishop, D-Ga., also toured the devastation with Deal and GEMA and FEMA officials.

"Middle and Southwest Georgia have faced destructive storms and tornadoes twice this month, and federal resources will be vital for the region's recovery," Bishop stated in a news release. "I urge the President to also approve the second request for federal assistance for those that were impacted by the tornadoes and storms that pummeled the area on January 22."

Bishop and delegations from Georgia and Mississippi led a moment of silence on the U.S. House floor in the wake of the deadly storms.

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(c)2017 The Macon Telegraph (Macon, Ga.)

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A Douglas County jury has awarded $11.3 million in damages to an Omaha mother of 10, finding Farmers Insurance had acted in bad faith in refusing to make good on her husband's $350,000 life insurance policy.

The case — brought by Vaneza Ramos after her husband, Jose Gaytan, died of COVD-19 in 2020 — followed years of litigation and two jury trials.

At the first, in March, a jury found that Farmers had breached its insurance contract, rejecting the company's allegation of fraudulent misrepresentation.

At the second earlier this month in Omaha, a separate jury considered whether Farmers had acted in bad faith and, if so, the harm caused by its denial of the claim.

"Beyond the verdict amount, this is a compelling local story about a South Omaha family that lost a husband and father during the COVID-19 pandemic, the financial and personal challenges that followed, and the role of a jury in holding an insurance company accountable," said attorney Ross Pesek, who represented Ramos along with Alejandra Ayotitla.

According to the complaint, Gaytan had named his wife, Ramos, as the beneficiary. But after he died May 31, 2020, the company denied her claim, prompting the lawsuit.

In an answer, Farmers New World Life Insurance Co. acknowledged that they issued a policy to Gaytan on Nov. 28, 2018, listing Ramos as the sole primary beneficiary.

But the company's lawyer contended he had failed to disclose his history of a heart attack (specifically a myocardial infarction he'd had that August), denied the claim and sent Ramos a check for $17,360.87, to refund the premiums paid on the policy.

Ramos didn't cash it.

District Court Judge Katie Benson initially granted summary judgment in favor of Farmers. But in December 2024, the Nebraska Court of Appeals reversed and sent the case back to district court on the breach of contract and bad faith claims.

The appellate court said Farmers had failed to establish that Gayton had intended to deceive the company.

Gayton had texted his insurance agent about his hospitalization that August, and he answered "yes" on a medical questionnaire asking if he'd been treated, hospitalized or taken medication for a range of issues, including high blood pressure, high cholesterol or heart attack.

Viewing the evidence in a light most favorable to Ramos, the court said there were genuine issues of material fact for a jury.

At a three-day trial, Pesek told the jurors: "A promise to protect should not be broken."

He said that promise, and the consequences of breaking it, were at the heart of the case.

Pesek said Ramos and Gayton together raised a blended family of 10 children and operated a family business in Omaha. In May 2020, they'd had their youngest. Later that month, Gayton was hospitalized with COVID-19 and died of it May 31.

He said evidence at trial described the financial pressure that followed. Ramos had to borrow from family and her mother moved in to help care for the children. Gayton's truck got repossessed, and their son set aside his plans in order to take on substantial responsibilities in the family business.

Pesek compared Ramos' fight to the story of David and Goliath.

"There is one moment that even Goliath fears. It's this moment. It's accountability because of a jury," he told the jury, which returned its verdict Oct. 16.

Farmers' attorney, Quinn Eaton, didn't respond Tuesday to a request for comment.

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