More than 16 years after the litigation began and two years after the Pennsylvania Superior Court granted a new trial to a couple pursuing a bad-faith claim against their insurance carrier, a Berks County trial judge has levied $18 million in punitive damages and $3 million in attorney fees against defendant Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co.
In April 2012, the Superior Court paved the way for the bad-faith claim in Berg v. Nationwide Mutual Insurance when it ruled plaintiffs Daniel and Sheryl Berg should be allowed to submit evidence that Nationwide was found to have violated the Pennsylvania Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law and paid its defense counsel nearly $1 million—a figure that has since ballooned to about $2.5 million, according to court documents—as part of an overarching litigation strategy to deter the filing of small claims.
