USAA Punished for it Claims Handling Punitive Damages Should be Awarded With Caution and Within Narrow Limits Read the full article at https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/usaa-punished-claims-handling-barry-zalma-esq-cfe-nbp2c, see the full video at and at and at https://zalma.com/blog plus more than 4950 posts. Posted on December 19, 2024 by Barry Zalma DISPUTE OVER HURRICANE DAMAGES RESULTS IN MAJOR PUNITIVE DAMAGES FOR BAD FAITH Although he Mississippi Supreme Court recognized the need to only award punitive damages with caution and within narrow limits, it did not limit its award in accordance with that maxim. After almost 19 years of litigation the last appeal resolved the various disputes. FACTS Hurricane Katrina destroyed Paul and Sylvia Minor’s home on August 29, 2005. The Minors had a homeowner’s insurance policy with United Services Automobile Association (USAA). The USAA policy covered damage caused by wind but excluded damage caused by storm surge or flood. The Minors reported their loss with USAA, which resulted in a years-long coverage dispute. USAA ultimately issued payments for damage it concluded was caused by wind but not for damage it concluded was caused by storm surge or flood. The Minors maintained that they suffered a total loss caused by wind and demanded that USAA pay the policy limits. The case proceeded to trial in 2013, and the jury awarded the Minors $1,547,293.37 in compensatory damages. In United Services Automobile Association v. Estate Of Sylvia F. Minor, Kathryn Minor and Stephen Minor, No. 2023-CA-00049-SCT, Supreme Court of Mississippi, En Banc (December 5, 2024) resolved the bad faith claims. The issue was ultimately presented to a jury. The jury awarded the Minors $10,000,000 in punitive damages and $457,858.89 in extra-contractual damages (solely attorneys’ fees). USAA appealed, raising several assignments of error. Trial To establish its bad faith claim, the Minor Estate introduced various USAA documents, including (1) portions of the USAA underwriting file; (2) the confidential email regarding (a) the engineer’s March 2006 findings and (b) Bergstrom’s conclusion that USAA would be responsible for paying for all the windows and the contents in rooms with windows; and (3) USAA’s letter to the Minors in June 2006 indicating the majority of damage was due to flooding. Punitive Damages Punitive damages are considered an ‘extraordinary remedy’ and should be awarded ‘with caution and within narrow limits.'” The Supreme Court found that the evidence presented at trial demonstrates a type of conduct for which punitive damages were designed. The Minor Estate provided sufficient proof that USAA acted in bad faith, with complete disregard for the Estate’s rights. Whether The $10 Million Punitive Damages Award Should Be Reversed Or, Alternatively, Reduced. USAA alternatively argues that the $10 million verdict should be reduced because it claims that the damages award is a 22:1 ratio and therefore unconstitutionally disproportionate to the extra-contractual damages awarded ($457,858.89). USAA relies on State Farm Mutual Auto Insurance Co. v. Campbell, 538 U.S. 408, 425, 123 S.Ct. 1513, 1524, 155 L.Ed.2d 585 (2003), which states that “[s]ingle-digit multipliers are more likely to comport with due process.” USAA argued that a 1:1 ratio should apply to the damages award here. The Supreme Court found that punitive damages is less than seven times the amount of compensatory damages, which it concluded clearly falls within the guideline provided in Campbell. A punitive damages award not only serves as a deterrent, it also compensates the plaintiff for its public service in bringing the action. The Supreme Court found the trial court’s decision to force the Minor Estate to use nearly half of its award to pay attorneys’ fees does not adequately compensate the Estate for bringing this action against USAA for its bad faith conduct in handling the Minors’ insurance claim from 2005. Therefore, the Supreme Court concluded that the trial court erred by denying the Estate’s post-trial motion for attorneys’ fees. CONCLUSION In sum, the trial judge did not err as a matter of law by submitting the issue of punitive damages to jury, and the $10 million award of punitive damages is not unconstitutionally disproportionate. The Supreme Court affirmed the jury verdict awarding the Minor Estate $10 million in punitive damages and $457,858.89 in extra-contractual damages as to attorneys’ fees and reverse the judgment of the trial court and render attorneys’ fees on behalf of the Estate in the amount of $4,500,000, plus post-judgment interest at an annual rate of 4 percent from October 3, 2022, the date of judgment, until paid. ZALMA OPINION This case that dragged on through the courts of Mississippi for 19 years and resulted in compensatory damages based upon an interpretation finding coverage for the estate and that the insurer’s conduct was so egregious that the estate was entitled to tort damages plus punitive damages many times more than the compensatory damages. The Supreme Court astonishingly concluded that punitive damages were not limited to punishing the insurer but were payment to the estate for its action on behalf of everyone in the state of Mississippi and that they should not be required to pay their lawyers but that payment should come from the insurer as part of its punishment. The Supreme Court ignored the fact that as a result the estate must pay income taxes on the punishment damages since they are not designed to make the insured whole and punished each member and insured of USAA. In my opinion it’s time the courts of the USA do away with the tort of bad faith to avoid excessive judgments and allow contract disputes to be enlarged into a major amount of punishment for an insurer who rejected a claim based on interpretation of contract terms and the facts of a loss, like this case. In that regard see my book, It’s Time to Abolish The Tort of Bad Faith Available as a paperback here. Available as a Kindle book here. (c) 2024 Barry Zalma & ClaimSchool, Inc. Please tell your friends and colleagues about this blog and the videos and let them subscribe to the blog and the videos. Subscribe to my substack at https://barryzalma.substack.com/subscribe Go to X @bzalma; Go to Newsbreak.com https://www.newsbreak.com/@c/1653419?s=01; Go to Barry Zalma videos at Rumble.com at https://rumble.com/account/content?type=all; Go to Barry Zalma on YouTube- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCysiZklEtxZsSF9DfC0Expg Go to the Insurance Claims Library – https://lnkd.in/gwEYk

https://thewashingtonstandard.com/breaking-magazine-ban-permanently-struck-down-ruled-unconstitutional-appeals-court-weighs-in/

https://gunsinthenews.com/breaking-magazine-ban-permanently-struck-down-ruled-unconstitutional-appeals-court-weighs-in/

Perhaps, if EVERY time a "BAD Law" gets "struck down", we ALSO then arrested and executed/hanged all of the people involved, (tyrants, traitors, and their henchmen), in proposing, drafting, and passing that "BAD Law",... we'd SOON PUT AN END to ALL "BAD (UNCONSTITUTIONAL), LAWS"!!!! https://gunsinthenews.com/breaking-supreme-court-6-3-decision-stripping-power-to-regulate-restrict-suppressors-video/

IMHO: WHILE TRUMP IS AT IT, HE OUGHT TO GIVE DIRECT ORDERS TO OUR MILITARY "MARINES", AND "SPECIAL FORCES" TO BE EVER VIGILANT, TO IMMEDIATELY GO AND ARREST ANYONE IN OUR GOVERNMENT, (EXECUTIVE, LEGILATIVE, OR JUDICIAL), WHO DOES ANYTHING "UNCONSTITUTIONAL", AND TO GIVE THEM A "SPEEDY MILITARY TRIBUNAL ("TRIAL"), AND SUMMARY LONG PRISON SENTENCE, OR, EXECUTION, (BY HANGING, OR FIRING SQUAD). NO DELAYS, NO EXCUSES, NO EXCEPTIONS, NO "AMNESTY" NO MERCY!!!

https://thewashingtonstandard.com/betsy-mccaughey-identifies-four-actions-trump-should-take-regarding-maha-agenda-some-are-unconstitutional/

COP FOLLOWS MAN HOME AFTER TRAFFIC STOP, THEN TASES HIM REPEATEDLY | 14 OTHER VICTIMS | FIRED! Typical PSYCHOPATH LEO in America! HOW LONG will we tolerate this scum who supposedly "works for us" The story is "#Police Protect and Defend the Public" The #Truth is that Police "Protect and Defend the #Criminals in Washington" And they ABUSE THE PUBLIC every day of their career! An #Oath violation occurs EVERY DAY in the life of cops! Most cops take the OATH to "Protect and Defend the #Constitution" as soon as they graduate the Academy..... THEN they get hired on somewhere, and immediately have to TAKE ANOTHER OATH which is diametrically opposed to the first oath! Police CANNOT "uphold the unconstitutional laws of their state" AND "Protect and Defend the Constitution"!!! You cannot serve two masters! Just like the bible says! Police SERVE THE STATE (who writes their paycheck) And they wipe their nasty asses with the constitution AND the rights of Americans! These scumbags are economically terrorizing every American! But they prefer the POOR AMERICANS who cannot afford to fight them in court! What Police do on a daily basis is USELESS ABUSE of Americans! They do not solve crimes, or try to catch "bad guys" They try to WRITE TICKETS and file felony charges on people who have HARMED NOBODY! (There is no legitimate #Crime) A "CRIME" requires a VICTIM! What Police charge these Americans under is NOT the "Law of the LAND" They file these charges under "Maritime Admiralty Law" where they can make sh*t up as they go along! NO AMERICAN belongs within the #Jurisdiction of "Maritime Admiralty Law" We ALL belong under COMMON LAW! Police are part of a criminal CORPORATION that harvests Americans for their money PERIOD! https://old.bitchute.com/video/FlIP1BuRR48/?list=subscriptions

IGNORANT COPS HARASS VETERAN OVER CARDBOARD SIGN | ENFORCE LAW HELD UNCONSTITUTIONAL IN 2019! Even #Police are not that dumb! But since their unlawful actions have NO CONSEQUENCES for them personally, why should they act lawfully? You see... EVERY OTHER AMERICAN IS HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR HIS ACTIONS, but Police are NOT! They are kinda like the #Banks who steal people's money... The innocent depositors lose everything, and the bank gets bailed out with their tax dollars. When THE BANK is responsible for their own collapse The same deal goes for cops! They spend all day violating people's rights and putting them into cages, even when they have done nothing wrong.... Yet they are seemingly "ABOVE THE LAW" Because TITLE 18 U.S.C. § 241 Conspiracy Against Rights AND 18 U.S.C. § 242 Deprivation of Rights Under Color of Law Are VERY SERIOUS CRIMES, punishable by fines, prison, and even the DEATH PENALTY! These are laws which are active and on the books! But Police who are clearly GUILTY of violating these "Statutes" are NEVER HELD ACCOUNTABLE! Never prosecuted! And that is because Police, the courts, and even the #Prosecutors, are #Criminals committing #Fraud against every American! These people work for a for-profit Corporation which is NOT YOUR "Government" by the way! These criminals have just disguised themselves as "servants of the people." But the truth is they have NEVER SERVED THE PEOPLE! What they do is unlawfully extort MONEY from the people under a Fraud based system of "Maritime Admiralty Law" Living MEN & WOMEN are not within their JURISDICTION! That is why they deceive you into representing a "Legal Fiction" Which is a corporation... Because THEY ARE A CORPORATION, and they can only interact with other corporations! Like the one they tricked you into "representing" You know... the one they created with your "Birth Certificate" (Which is NOT you!) It's a "Legal Fiction" that these people have jurisdiction over! YOU simply need to learn to STOP REPRESENTING THAT "LEGAL FICTION" and they will have no jurisdiction over you! These people (ALL OF THEM) belong in prison But at the very least, they need to be shut down and kicked out of the country! Until that happens, you remain a slave https://old.bitchute.com/video/6aBFNWjPrHI/

ELON MUSK OCTOBER 20, 2024 People are so easily deceived! Elon Musk is an openly Satanic scumbag POS who wants to chip your brain people! He is NOT a "hero" or a "champion of #FreeSpeech" by any means! If you believe he is, try posting the Truth about #Jews on "X" and you'll discover very quickly that free speech does NOT live on X These people NEED you to "Vote" in their phony "Election" YOUR "VOTE" IS YOUR "CONSENT" TO BEING RULED BY THEM! What you call "government" is a Corporation operating based on #Fraud and Deception, under a system of "Maritime Admiralty Law" And YOU MUST CONSENT for them to have #Jurisdiction over you! The "United States of America" is a CORPORATION It is NOT a "country" and is NOT YOUR "Government" It's an organized Crime ring that uses Maritime Admiralty Law to rule you like a Slave Since you are a living MAN or WOMAN and live on the LAND and not at SEA, you are within the JURISDICTION of common law. These people use trickery and deception to get you to "consent" to giving up your inalienable rights and becoming the "chattel property" of the corporation, and being ruled under maritime admiralty law While it's a brilliant scam... It's a SCAM nonetheless, and every MAN or WOMAN in America has been duped by these Political #Parasites, into being placed within the JURISDICTION of maritime law F*ck Trump and Elon.... They are BOTH tools of Satan and Satan's Political System FREE MEN & WOMEN don't "vote" to have masters rule over them! They rule over THEMSELVES under COMMON LAW and do no harm to others "Voting" for who your slave master will be is NOT FREEDOM! It's an act of "giving your consent" to being removed from common law... And placed within the JURISDICTION of maritime admiralty law Where "black robed priests" make all of your decisions for you... And men with guns enforce unconstitutional "Statutes and Codes" on you! Every time you check the box declaring "I am a US Citizen" you are CONSENTING to being placed within the jurisdiction of maritime admiralty law, just like voting LEARN HOW TO REMAIN IN COMMON LAW! And STOP "consenting to be a SLAVE of these Satanic weirdos https://old.bitchute.com/video/BbTWk9EI2oXo/

https://gunsinthenews.com/ny-concealed-carry-ban-ruled-unconstitutional-video/