DoPeY5007
03-15-2002, 08:40 PM
For you cigar smoking lawyers.
A Charlotte, N.C. lawyer purchased a box of very rare
and expensive cigars, then insured them against fire
(among other things). Within a month, having smoked
his entire stockpile of these great cigars, and not
yet having made even his first premium payment on the
policy, the lawyer filed a claim against the insurance
company. In his claim, the lawyer stated the cigars
were lost "in a series of small fires."
The insurance company refused to pay, citing the
obvious reason: the man had consumed the cigars in the
normal fashion.
The lawyer sued....and won!
In delivering the ruling, the judge agreed with the
insurance company that the claim was frivolous.
However, the judge stated that the lawyer held a
policy from the company in which it had warranted that
the cigars were insurable, and had guaranteed that it
would indeed insure them against
fire, without defining what is considered
"unacceptable fire"- and was
obligated to pay the claim. Rather than endure a
lengthy and costly appeal
process, the insurance company accepted the ruling and
paid $15,000 to the lawyer for
his incendiary bamboozle.
NOW FOR THE GOOD PART.............
After the lawyer cashed the check, the insurance
company had him arrested on 24 counts of arson. With
his own insurance claim and testimony from the
previous case being used against him, the lawyer was
convicted of intentionally burning his insured
property and sentenced to 24 months in jail and a
$24,000 fine.
Supposedly this is a true story and was the 1st place
winner in the recent Criminal Lawyers Award Contest.
A Charlotte, N.C. lawyer purchased a box of very rare
and expensive cigars, then insured them against fire
(among other things). Within a month, having smoked
his entire stockpile of these great cigars, and not
yet having made even his first premium payment on the
policy, the lawyer filed a claim against the insurance
company. In his claim, the lawyer stated the cigars
were lost "in a series of small fires."
The insurance company refused to pay, citing the
obvious reason: the man had consumed the cigars in the
normal fashion.
The lawyer sued....and won!
In delivering the ruling, the judge agreed with the
insurance company that the claim was frivolous.
However, the judge stated that the lawyer held a
policy from the company in which it had warranted that
the cigars were insurable, and had guaranteed that it
would indeed insure them against
fire, without defining what is considered
"unacceptable fire"- and was
obligated to pay the claim. Rather than endure a
lengthy and costly appeal
process, the insurance company accepted the ruling and
paid $15,000 to the lawyer for
his incendiary bamboozle.
NOW FOR THE GOOD PART.............
After the lawyer cashed the check, the insurance
company had him arrested on 24 counts of arson. With
his own insurance claim and testimony from the
previous case being used against him, the lawyer was
convicted of intentionally burning his insured
property and sentenced to 24 months in jail and a
$24,000 fine.
Supposedly this is a true story and was the 1st place
winner in the recent Criminal Lawyers Award Contest.