Cruser Mitchell attorneys obtained a defense verdict on behalf of GEICO in a property damage jury trial. The plaintiff sought to recover approximately $4,000 (plus $50,000 in attorney’s fees based on the insurance contract) from GEICO as the result of a phantom vehicle accident that allegedly occurred on August 14, 2013.
The plaintiff initially sought insurance coverage with GEICO on July 25, 2013. He added collision coverage for the first time on August 8, 2013 – just six days before the alleged accident. Using the sworn Examination Under Oath testimony of a witness in the plaintiff’s vehicle (because the witness was unavailable to attend trial despite efforts to serve him with a trial subpoena at eight different addresses), along with the testimony of the police officer, physical evidence, and suspicious circumstances of the insurance procurement, the jury found that the accident did not occur on August 14, 2013, as the plaintiff contended.
The plaintiff has a separate lawsuit pending for alleged personal injuries stemming from the same alleged crash. Cruser Mitchell will seek dismissal of that case as well.