Fired Claims Adjuster Wins Nearly $2 Million From Insurance Firm

A veteran claims adjuster who was fired without warning from his $29,000-a-year job was awarded almost $2 million in damages Thursday by a jury that found he had been unfairly terminated.

“I’m ecstatic,” said Raymond G. Singer, 63, of Garden Grove, who found a job answering telephones at $3.60 an hour after he was fired. Singer had offered to settle his claim for $300,000 before the trial.

Jurors, who found that executives of Ohio Casualty Insurance Co. fired Singer without good cause, awarded him $254,400 for back wages, $200,000 for emotional distress and $1.5 million in punitive damages.

The punitive damage award, designed to punish the insurer, was the seventh largest since California courts first extended courtroom protections to non-union, non-public sector workers in 1980, according to one survey.

Singer worked in Ohio Casualty’s Fullerton office. He was fired when he acknowledged that he had approved a $600 payment to a contractor to repair wind damage to a policyholder’s home without first personally inspecting the house.

“The evidence was overwhelming that they didn’t treat him fairly,” said Hal R. Crumb, a Westminster electrical engineer who served as jury foreman.

“Even the witnesses called by the defense turned out to be witnesses for (Singer),” Crumb said. “They showed no regard for his rights.”

Crumb said jurors felt that it was “convenient” for the insurance company to fire Singer, who at 59 was already eligible for early retirement after 21 years with Ohio Casualty.

Several jurors wanted to fix punitive damages at $3.6 million, or 10% of Ohio Casualty’s pre-tax profit in 1985, Crumb said.

“All the job evaluations of Mr. Singer were above average,” said his lawyer, Cecil E. Ricks Jr. “Their personnel manual promised progressive discipline for employees.”

But in Singer’s case, he was simply fired, Ricks said.

“No explanations. No warnings. They (Ohio Casualty executives) said it would be a poor example for other workers if they allowed him to remain,” Ricks added.

Reprsentatives for Ohio Casualty, with assets of $500 million in 1985, could not be reached for comment.

Ricks called witnesses who testified that approving repairs for homeowners without a personal inspection was a common practice at Ohio Casualty at the time. Evidence also showed that other adjusters had been warned and disciplined about the practice but not fired, the attorney added.

Jurors found that Ohio Casualty, by its employment of Singer for 21 years, promised that he would not be fired without just cause. They also found the firm had treated Singer unfairly, dealt with him in bad faith and recklessly disregarded his rights.

The verdict, in the courtroom of Orange County Superior Court Judge Donald E. Smallwood, should “deter this and other defendants from this kind of conduct,” Ricks said.

Singer estimated that he had handled 7,500 claims for Ohio Casualty without any substantial complaints.

He is looking forward to “something special” to celebrate his 40th wedding anniversary with his wife, Rita, this summer, Singer said.

After he was fired, Singer’s pay went from $2,450 a month to early retirement benefits of $253 a month.

“I’m happy I was vindicated,” Singer said. “It was such an injustice. I worked for them for years and years, nights, holidays--and this is what I got.”