Ginger Hinch Durio v. Horace Mann Insurance Company, et al.

Summary

The Louisiana Supreme Court reviewed an insurance dispute arising from Hurricane Rita damage to the plaintiff's home. The court addressed whether penalties under La. R.S. 22:1220 could be calculated using contractual damages and whether attorney fees were properly awarded under the amended version of La. R.S. 22:658. The court affirmed in part, reversed in part, and amended in part the lower-court rulings.

Holdings

1. Penalties under La. R.S. 22:1220(C) are calculated by reference to damages sustained as a result of the insurer's breach of the statutory duties of good faith and fair dealing, not by including contractual amounts due under the insurance policy.
2. The proper penalty award was twice the $167,333 in general and special damages attributable to Horace Mann's statutory breach, or $334,666.
3. The 2006 amendment to La. R.S. 22:658 authorizing attorney fees and increasing the penalty did not apply because Durio's cause of action arose when Horace Mann failed to pay within the statutory period after receiving satisfactory proof of loss on May 5, 2006, before the amendment became effective.

Questions Presented

1. Whether penalties under La. R.S. 22:1220(C) may be calculated by doubling contractual damages owed under the insurance policy.
2. Whether the 2006 amendment to La. R.S. 22:658, which increased penalties and authorized attorney fees, applied to Durio's claim when satisfactory proof of loss was received before the amendment's effective date.
3. What disposition should follow from the proper calculation of statutory penalties and the nonretroactivity of the amended attorney-fee provision.

Disposition

other