A recent Law 360 story by Daphne Zhang, “Insurer Must Pay $21M Jury Verdict, $6M Fee Award,” reports that a Georgia federal judge denied Cypress Insurance Co.'s bid to disregard a $21 million jury verdict and a $6 million attorney fee award to the family of a man killed by a trucker accident, ruling that the insurer gave no evidence that the jury's decision was wrong.  U.S. District Judge Richard W. Story said the jury's February verdict was supported by evidence and witness testimony, holding that Cypress failed to demonstrate and offer further proof that the trucker, its policyholder, did not act in negligence and bad faith.

Cypress previously asked the court to set the February jury verdict aside or hold a new trial after the jury awarded $21 million to the family of Kip Holland. Holland died in December 2016, after being hit by a trailer that had detached and rolled away from a semi-tractor being driven by James Harper.

The carrier has argued that the accident was caused by an "act of God," saying that a $6 million special verdict for attorney fees should be argued orally because it "equates to paying counsel at a rate of $5,500 an hour."

The judge rebuffed Cypress' challenging the $6 million attorney costs award, saying the Holland family and their attorneys sufficiently illustrated their contractual agreement of having the counsel earning a 40% fee, and the jury reasonably chose to enforce it.  "Defendants' contention that plaintiffs were required to provide evidence of an hourly rate to support their request for attorney's fees does not comport with the Court's reading of the governing law," the judge said.