Dunham v. 20th Century

Insurance bad faith case where plaintiffs sued their insurer under various theories, claiming that they were owed an additional $140,000 for earthquake damages, despite the fact that the carrier had already paid $630,000. We cross-complained against the insureds, contending that they had made material misrepresentations and submitted some fraudulent receipts in the course of presenting their claim so that the policy should be void. Following a month long trial, the jury returned a unanimous verdict in favor of 20th Century on the bad faith claim and also awarded $630,000 in damages on the cross-complaint plus an additional $50,000 in punitive damages. With pre-judgment interest and costs, the net judgment against the plaintiffs/cross-defendants amounted to nearly $1 million.