A reader tipped me off to this verdict, which was handed down a few weeks ago in Orange County. A jury awarded just under $10 million in compensatory damages, plus $13 million in punitive damages, against GEICO Insurance Co.
Omar Daoud, a GEICO insured, was injured in an auto accident with a driver who had $100,000 in liability coverage. Daoud demanded that GEICO pay the $400,000 underinsured motorist policy limits on his policy. According to Daoud, GEICO unreasonably delayed in paying those benefits, which caused him to lose two homes to foreclosure.
GEICO says it plans to appeal, according to this story in the Orange County Register.
