As the post-Koken auto law cases begin to proceed through trial and up the appellate ladder, more and more novel issues are being clarified by the courts. One such issue is how to handle the issue of assessing delay damages in cases where there is a tortfeasor defendant and an insurance company defendant, whether it be an uninsured motorist (UM) carrier or an underinsured (UIM) motorist carrier.
A Novel Issue
In its December 28, 2012, decision in the case of Marlette v. State Farm, (Pa. Dec. 28, 2012) (opinion by Todd, J.) (McCaffery, J., dissenting) (Orie Melvin, J., not participating), the Pennsylvania Supreme Court squarely addressed that very issue of whether, after a jury trial in a UM benefits matter, a plaintiff is entitled to delay damages on the full amount of the jury’s verdict or only on the reduced verdict after the verdict had been molded downward to the amount of the uninsured motorist’s policy limits available under the automobile insurance policy at issue.
