Pima County Jury Awards Over $400K in Bad Faith Claim

In September 2005, a plaintiff driving in Tucson, Arizona, was involved in a rear-end collision and sustained multiple injuries. The driver of the other vehicle, insured by USAA, settled with the plaintiff for the policy limits of $20,000. The plaintiff then sought underinsured motorist (UIM) benefits from her own insurer, State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company, under a policy providing $500,000 in UIM coverage. State Farm denied the claim, asserting the plaintiff had been adequately compensated.

In June 2010, the plaintiff filed a lawsuit against State Farm in the Arizona Superior Court for Pima County, alleging breach of contract and breach of the duty of good faith and fair dealing. The plaintiff sought various damages, including general, special, and punitive damages.

The case proceeded to trial, and in September 2012, a jury found in favor of the plaintiff, determining her full damages to be $287,000. In November 2012, the court entered judgment for $287,000 against State Farm, reduced by the $20,000 previously recovered from the other driver's insurer. The court also determined that State Farm had failed to accept an earlier offer of judgment of $50,000 from the plaintiff. As a result, State Farm was ordered to pay doubled taxable costs, expert witness fees, prejudgment interest, and attorneys' fees, in addition to jury fees. The total judgment, including these additional awards, amounted to over $400,000.