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Recovering Emotional Distress Damages for Breach of an Insurance Contract
Michael Cohen recently published an article in the Los Angeles and San Francisco Daily Journal on "Recovering Emotional Distress Damages for Breach of an Insurance Contract." In this article, Michael reviews California case law that allows individuals to claim damages for emotional distress when their insurance unfairly denies them benefits. He also explains how to receive compensation when an insurance contract is broken and the legal rights one has to that claim.
In his article, Michael summarizes Wynn v. Monterey Club, 111 Cal. App. 3d 789 (1980), and Erlich v. Menezes, 21 Cal. 4th 543 (1999); cases that support the argument that a plaintiff may recover emotional distress damages for breach of contract.
He concludes by discussing two benefits insureds have when they sue to recover contract benefits: “First, they provide authority for the argument that an insured may recover damages for emotional distress for breach of an insurance contract even if the insurance carrier just made a mistake but did not act in bad faith. In addition, an insured can take advantage of the longer limitations period for a contract claim (usually, but not always, four years) versus the shorter limitations period for a claim based on the breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing (typically two years) and still recover damages for emotional distress.”
The full article is available to Daily Journal subscribers; please click below: