Levon Sogomonian v. Imperial & Lloyd’s

Arson-for-Profit Fails Because of Rescission

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Since I began writing these stories in 1990 I have changed the names of the parties to protect the guilty. This is an exception.

In 1981, Levon Sogomonian, a person who claimed to be a refugee from Soviet Armenia purchased a homeowners policy from Imperial Casualty. Simultaneously he purchased a Personal Articles Floater (PAF) from Underwriters at Lloyd’s, London insuring him up to a limit of liability in excess of $2 million for the loss of his house and its contents. Shortly after receiving the policies, an arson fire occurred destroying the house and its contents.

On investigation Mr. Sogomonian’s insurers proved that he had lied on the applications for insurance to Imperial Casualty and Lloyd’s.  The Court affirmed the insurers rescission of the policies from their inception. Mr. Sogomonian appealed, and that decision is reported as Imperial Casualty v. Sogomonian 198 Cal.App. 3d 169, 243 Cal. Rptr. 639 (1988)

Mr. Sogomonian was required to reimburse Imperial and Lloyd’s for all of the money expended by them in making advance payments, making payments to innocent mortgagees, and for attorney’s fees and costs incurred in the declaratory relief action a sum over $500,000.

Sogomonian, however, was unwilling to acknowledge his loss. He was angry and desired retribution. He concluded that his loss of the $2 million he expected to make from his fraudulent insurance claim was due to the activities of the investigators retained by Lloyd’s and Imperial, the late Leslie M. Schifrin of Schifrin, Gagnon & Dickey, in Van Nuys, California.

At the first settlement conference called, the settlement judge was livid. He advised Mr. Sogomonian, from the bench, that his actions in suing Mr. Schifrin were despicable and an absolute misuse of the judicial system for the sole purpose of revenge. 

After receiving three death threats and thirteen years of spurious and frivolous activities by Mr. Sogomonian, received a small amount of justice.

It took 15 years but some justice was done to a person involved in a fraud.

ZALMA OPINION

It is important when faced with an arson-for-profit scheme and insurance fraud it is essential that the insurers who have sufficient evidence to prove the fraud to insist on resolving the invariable bad faith suit from the arsonist to the highest courts in the land. The state of California refused to even consider criminal prosecution.

(c) 2022 Barry Zalma & ClaimSchool, Inc.

Barry Zalma, Esq., CFE, is available at http://www.zalma.com and [email protected].

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