Media Coverage
Source: Daily Journal, Law360
Media Coverage
08.07.15
A California jury last week delivered a landmark $55 million verdict for pipe-joining equipment manufacturer Victaulic Co., which sued three AIG entities (AIG) for breach of contract and bad faith after the insurers failed to provide coverage in seven different underlying actions.
Though AIG said in a statement that it “respectfully but strongly disagrees” with the verdict and Litigation partners Joseph D. Jean and Colin T. Kemp expect an appeal, industry lawyers say the verdict is unlikely to be overturned.
“Obviously, those attorneys did an excellent job. I’m sure insurance companies are already well aware,” insurance lawyer Ray Bourhis told Daily Journal. “I would predict it will be upheld on appeal.”
Litigator Guy Kornblum of Kornblum Cochran Erickson Harbison in San Francisco points to the $46 million in punitive damages as evidence that the jury was thoroughly convinced of AIG’s wrongdoing in neglecting to provide coverage.
“It’s interesting because commercial cases don’t usually engender a lot of sympathy. That’s a whopping punitive award for a commercial plaintiff,” he said.
Insurance Recovery & Advisory Partners Joe Jean and Colin Kemp and counsel Jeffrey A. Kiburtz were Victaulic’s trial counsel.