Recently we have seen a trend towards intolerance by the Courts
of insurers' tactics. In the case of Persampieri v. Hobbs
et al., an 84 year old plaintiff brought an action for
injuries as a result of being rear-ended in a motor vehicle
collision. The Defendant admitted liability but had explained that
this claim was in the Insurer's Defensible Program and that the
only offer to settle would be $0.00. The decision of the Defendant
to not engage in meaningful settlement negotiations forced the
plaintiff to proceed to Trial by Jury.
The Jury awarded nearly $70,000 in damages, yet with deductions
for the statutory deductible and accident benefits, the net award
to the Plaintiff was just over $20,000. This result was over double
the Rule 49 offer served by the Plaintiff before trial. Justice
Sanderson in deciding the appropriate costs of the action made a
number of comments with respect to the importance of access to
justice and the expenses involved in pursuing justice.
