Valley Couple Win $12 Million in Suit Against Insurer
A Los Angeles jury awarded nearly $12.3 million to a Woodland Hills couple whose insurance company refused to pay their claim stemming from damage due to an aftershock of the 1994 Northridge earthquake.
Nancy and Jefferey Pomerantz filed suit in November 1995 after claiming that Mid-Century Insurance Co. wrongfully denied their $125,000 property damage claim. Mid-Century is part of the Farmers Insurance Group.
After an eight-week trial, the jury found Wednesday in favor of the plaintiffs and awarded them $260,000 in compensatory damages and $12 million in punitive damages.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Owen Kwong will determine next week how much to award the plaintiffs’ lawyers for their fees and costs incurred in prosecuting the case.
“The jurors sent a message to Farmers that the public will not stand an insurance company not honoring its policy,” said plaintiffs’ attorney Patricia Moore. “The Pomerantzes were subjected to a grueling, lengthy legal battle with a relentless insurance company. But $12 million is a powerful message.”
Lawyers for Farmers could not be reached for comment.
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