Insurance Bad Faith

Granite v. Aetna

A U.S. district court jury in San Francisco on April 20 awarded Granite Management Co. $726,000 in a bad faith insurance case against Aetna Casualty and Surety Co.

The jury unanimously decided that Aetna had acted in bad faith when it failed to cover an insurance claim filed against Granite Management.

"I think it is an important case for corporate policyholders, because most insurance companies think that jurors won't be sympathetic to corporations, but this case showed otherwise," said Heller Ehrman White & McAuliffeh partner Richard DeNatale, who represented Granite.

The bad faith suit was the result of Aetna's refusal to pay a claim in a construction defect suit against Granite.

DeNatale led the effort and was assisted by associate D. Christopher Kerby.