A Brazoria County jury returned a unanimous verdict late yesterday afternoon, finding Germania Insurance Company breached its obligations under a 2012 homeowner’s policy, acted in bad faith, and did so knowingly. The jury awarded Doris Knippa, of Alvin, Texas, approximately, $160,000 in damages, which includes appellate costs, in a case she offered to settled for $35,000.
Under cross examination, Germania’s own adjuster gave his company a “D” letter grade when assessing the quality of photographs the company took while investigating our client’s damages.
When our lawyers tell a Defendant that they are willing to go to trial – even on small cases – they mean it. Germania offered our client $30,000, only to reduce the offer to $20,000 shortly before trial. But these scare tactics did nothing to deter our trial lawyers from teaching another insurance company a valuable lesson. And our hard work and determination paid off. Again.
Our lawyers go to trial when insurers refuse to act reasonably. We do it often, and we do it well. Having lawyers that know how to try cases makes a difference. While most cases settle, having skilled trial counsel levels the playing field and encourages insurance companies or corporate defendants to behave reasonably. As a result, our cases are more valuable than those of lawyers that merely threaten trial, or that do not have the skills to go to toe-to-toe with the insurer’s limitless resources.
Below you will see an image of our happy client. If you are considering hiring a lawyer to represent your interest against an unscrupulous insurance company, call our firm to find out how we can help!