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Constitutional Law Keyed to Choper
State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. v. Campbell
Citation:
538 U.S. 408 (2003)Facts
In 1981, Curtis Campbell caused an accident when he unsafely passed six vans on a two-lane highway in Utah, forcing an oncoming driver (Todd Ospital) to swerve and collide with another vehicle. Ospital was killed, and the other driver (Robert Slusher) was permanently disabled. Despite evidence of Campbell’s fault, State Farm refused settlement offers within the $50,000 policy limit and took the case to trial, assuring the Campbells they had no liability. The jury found Campbell 100% at fault and awarded $185,849 in damages. State Farm initially refused to cover the $135,849 excess liability and told the Campbells they might need to sell their property. During Campbell’s appeal, the Campbells reached an agreement with Ospital’s estate and Slusher not to execute the judgment against them personally in exchange for pursuing a bad faith action against State Farm. After the Utah Supreme Court denied Campbell’s appeal, State Farm paid the entire judgment. The Campbells nonetheless sued State Farm for bad faith, fraud, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. At trial, evidence was introduced about State Farm’s nationwide “Performance, Planning and Review” policy that allegedly incentivized underpayment of claims. The jury awarded $2.6 million in compensatory damages and $145 million in punitive damages.
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