The Berks County Court of Common Pleas judge who levied $18 million in punitive damages and $3 million in attorney fees against Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. last year has asked the state Superior Court to reject the insurer’s appeal, calling some of the company’s arguments “disingenuous” and “ridiculous.”
In June 2014, Judge Jeffrey K. Sprecher awarded the plaintiffs in Berg v. Nationwide Mutual Insurance the money after determining that the insurance company had engaged in a “scorched earth” strategy for fighting small claims. The award came after more than 16 years of litigation, and a previous trip up the appellate ladder.
