Cory P. Whalen Press

Jury rejects insurance company’s effort to place low value on boys’ lives

Insurance company offers $10,000, jury awards $1.57 million

A Hennepin County jury has awarded $1.57 million to a father who lost two sons in a car accident. Originally offered $5,000 by Progressive Insurance for the life of each son, Charles Dack, of Mora, took his case to a jury that agreed that the offer was unacceptable.

According to Dack’s attorney, Cory Whalen from Sieben, Grose, Von Holtum & Carey in Minneapolis, Dack’s sons, six-month old Jonathan Johnson and 2-year old Jacob Johnson, along with their mother and step-cousin, were killed in car accident in 2005. Settling the insurance claim on this fatal accident was difficult not only because so many people were involved, but also because the boys’ young parents had never married and each lived with one of their parents. Progressive tried to capitalize on the situation by offering to settle for far less than the family’s policy was worth.

“While Dack did not have insurance, he lived with his father who did,” Whalen said. “Jacob and Jonathan lived with their father and grandfather every Friday through Sunday. Under state law, minors are allowed to have more than one residence. Because of this law, Dack was entitled to the $100,000 coverage that his father paid for. Progressive showed blatant disregard for the family and the law and offered $5,000 for the life of each child.”

While Progressive knew the insurance policy limit was $100,000, it saw an opportunity to not meet its responsibility. The large insurance company may have counted on the fact that Dack, who is young and sometimes unemployed because of health issues, would not push the issue but rather take the money and walk away. Insurers in Minnesota often treat their policy holders in this manner because there is no state law requiring them to act in Good Faith.

“Progressive knew that the kids could have two residences under state law, but yet made this family trudge through a long and drawn-out litigation process, anyway,” Whalen said. “They tried to make the case that Dack was a bad father and his kids’ lives weren’t worth much, but in the end a jury of this young man’s peers were outraged by the how the insurance company treated the family, and awarded him not the $100,000 the insurance company would have paid if it would have treated their policyholder fairly, but instead $1.57 million.”

Under current Minnesota law, the family will not be allowed to collect anything more than the insurance policy limits, even though the jury determined the case had more value and even though Progressive's defense based on residency was shown to be frivolous.

Minnesota is only one of four states without a Good Faith law which would simply require insurance companies to treat consumers fairly. Under “deny, delay, and defend” tactics used by the insurance industry, like in the Dack case, consumers can find themselves forced to fight for the coverage they’ve paid for. “Dack’s story is just another example of why a Good Faith law is needed in Minnesota,” Whalen said. “Denying, delaying, and defending legitimate claims ties up valuable court time and is unfair to Minnesota consumers. It’s time for a Good Faith law in Minnesota.”