With more than 35 years of experience representing plaintiffs who have sustained serious personal injuries or financial losses, the trial lawyers of BIREN|KATZMAN have successfully handled hundreds of cases, collecting more than $250 million for our clients. The following case is just one example:
SARULLO V. TRANSAMERICA INSURANCE CO.
Building Owner Awarded Verdict Of $2.25 Million
Sam Sarullo owned a building in Bakersfield which housed a pizza restaurant and a night club. While Mr. Sarullo was hospitalized in Los Angeles for open heart surgery, the building caught fire and 60% of it burned.
The defendant insurance company delayed payment of insurance benefits. The carrier continuously asked for receipts of repairs made to the building, despite notice that the receipts had burned in the fire.
Because of zoning changes, Mr. Sarullo was precluded from re-building a restaurant on the premises and intended to instead build a commercial building. His insurance company took the position that unless he used the insurance proceeds to re-build a replacement restaurant on the same piece of property (where building was now prohibited), he could not recover the actual cash value of replacement costs; an increased benefit which he had paid extra premiums for.
After suit was filed, the carrier paid $251,551 in benefits which it had previously denied. BIREN|KATZMAN proved at trial that the insurance company had acted in bad faith. The verdict was for $2.25 million more, consisting of $400,000 in general damages, $150,000 in attorney's fees and $1.75 million in punitive damages.
Contact BIREN|KATZMAN for a free consultation about cases in any of our practice areas; your recovery could begin today.
