Opinion ID: 886758
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Nature and Reprehensibility of the Defendant's Wrongdoing

Text: ¶ 44 The District Court found that Paul Revere erred in its interpretation of Montana law and in the application of Montana law to its issued disability insurance policy. Although the District Court acknowledged that the jury thought Paul Revere was remiss in failing to warn Deonier of the risk of being sued if Paul Revere decided to use the Forman defense, the District Court found that the foreseeability of the events leading to the suit against Deonier were not so clear that one could reasonably conclude, whether in 1987, 1991 or 1994, that Paul Revere intentionally and purposefully set out to wrongfully harm Deonier or any other insurance broker similarly situated. The District Court concluded that Deonier's suit against Paul Revere had its genesis in the interaction of two wrongs: the first being Paul Revere's error in its interpretation of Montana law; the second being Vestal's omission of material information from the application. According to the Court, it was the interaction of these two wrongs that brought about the events of this case, with Deonier caught in the middle. The District Court also noted that Paul Revere honored disability claims that were clearly related to conditions noted on the insured's application. ¶ 45 The District Court thus concluded that the jury was given no evidence to compare the reprehensibility of Paul Revere's conduct to the reprehensibility of others in punitive damages cases and, basing its opinion on over thirty years of legal experience, concluded that the degree of reprehensibility of Paul Revere in this case was substantially less egregious than the conduct of others giving rise to punitive damages.