$650,000 Jury Award – Insurance Bad Faith
We represented a young San Francisco man who was injured when he fell from a second‑story balcony at a residential home because of a defective balcony railing. We proved that the wooden railing had severe dry rot which caused it to collapse. The defendant homeowners had a liability insurance policy but were denied insurance coverage for the claim by their insurance company, Farmers Insurance, who claimed the homeowner failed to pay the insurance premium. We proved at trial that Farmers Insurance failed to meet the requirements of Insurance Code §678, the anti‑lapse statute, and had not sent valid cancellation notices to their insureds. Farmers Insurance agreed to pay the full award of $650,000 during trial.