In a case stemming from a fatal car accident a dozen years ago, a sharply divided Florida Supreme Court backed a jury’s conclusion that GEICO General Insurance Co. acted in “bad faith” in the way it handled a customer’s claim.

The 4-3 ruling came in a multimillion-dollar case that has been watched by the insurance industry and trial attorneys. The ruling reinstated a bad-faith verdict against GEICO after the Fourth District Court of Appeal had overturned the jury’s decision.