This entire thing is a travesty. We’ve all made these comments before – it’s tragic that people died but most of the money is coming from people not at all responsible for their deaths. Nobody’s even sure this latest company made the foam that caught on fire, yet they’re shelling out (okay, their insurer is shelling out) $25M. Ludicrous.
Yup – we don’t care who made the foam or whether or not it was used properly. We will crush every foam company using legal hellfire until they pay up. Deep pocket targeting strategy always works!
The claim VP or other claims executive that approved this ex gratia payment should be fired. This is an insult to policyholders and investors whose money is being squandered in an unecessary panic. Considering it can’t be established the company even manufactured the insulation and the fact that it was used for other than intended purposes, and the mother-of-all facts that some idiot used pyrotechnics where they weren’t anticipated don’t warrant this kind of payment. Whatever insurance carrier that caved in on this just sent the wrong message to the plaintiff bar that will only encourage their antics on other non-meritorious claims.
Want to know why no one in the US develops new products or technologies and why Research & Development is no longer a priority? Want to know why we’ve gone from an industrial to an “information – service” society, and why so many other contries in the world competitive market are outdistancing the US? Look no further than our Courts….
What the heck, why not just include everyone in the country in this thing & make ’em pay? The claims people, owners of foam company and the attorneys all need to be sent to the middle of the ocean & sunk! One positive note though, when it’s all gone & the US has nothing else left, maybe these idiots will realize the damage they have done (ok, so maybe not).
Insurance Journal Readers Named in Bajilliondy Dollar Suit by RI Nightclub Fire Victims and Families.
…Suit claims readers are said to have general knowledge of how to light matches and/or rub sticks together for making fire; readers failed to notify pyrotechnic dude and club owners of possibility of flames when setting flammable or explosive things on fire…
Oh my freakin’ goard! I nearly passed out laughing.
“Estate of Elvis Presley Named in Never-ending Suit Searching for the Last Deep Pocket”
The estate of the late Elvis Presley was named today in a suit involving a night club fire. Plaintiff’s lawyers were heard to say, “Elvis was the King of Rock ‘n Roll so it only stands to reason that a band such as Great White would fall in his domain.” No cash has been offered in settlement but free passes to Graceland and a lifetime supply of peanut butter and banana sandwiches have been placed on the table. Settlement awaits approval by a hungry judge and plaintiffs.
Hey, I sent a $1 to Oral Roberts when he was blubering on TV & treatened to do himself in….so I sent a $1 to the foam company, claims people and attorneys. No response yet…will keep you posted.
It was such a tragity that this event took place, but what is even worse is that by the time this is all said and done, insurer’s will have paid out $100’s of millions (further hurting our economy, there will still be families with lost loved ones, and still injured survivers with scars/disabilities that will last a lifetime. Everybody is hurt by this except the lawyers. The lawyers bank accounts are getting FATTER & FATTER!!!
…will they ever realize what they have done??? No, because they have just moved into the ever widening elitist rich category having uncovered a previously unexpected fund of undeserved cash. I fully agree but until we can find some way of putting pressure on a legal system that takes care of it’s own, we are all going to keep paying.
Agreed; you’d think that some common sense would enter into these things but NOOOO!…after all, you cannot enrich yourself with insurance; you only get indemnified, made whole to the same status (or close to it) you were in before a loss….so how can courts/juries enrich folks who had nothing before…and remember, capping awards is always subject to some exclusion. I for one am sick of it…
I agree with what everyone said about the insurance company paying $25m when the foam company could not be confirmed as the one that manufactured the foam. It is really disheartening. I know for sure that the most likely reason the $25m settlement occurred is because over the course of fighting the litigation – because if they could not definitively identify the insured as the manufacturer, they probably could not definitively state that the insured did NOT manufacture the foam – so instead of paying $25m in defense costs (the average case costs $75,000+ in litigation fees & this would be no average case and would be in the court system for years) the insurance company prudently decided not to go to trial because it would have cost them the defense costs PLUS a jury award & this is NOT a case to try because it was so terrible and it is probable that a jury would award something & that something would probably be substantial because of the number of fatalities and it was in their community – that said, I do agree that this is a travesity of justice but the insurance company probably saved $$$$ by settling the case and not going to trial. Sorry guys that is the reality of some cases – juries can be crazy in the size of awards.
Maybe I didn’t get all the facts of the case, but if one foam company pays out how can you sue all the other foam manufactuers for the same foam? In one part of the article it even says that the foam wasn’t the same as they had installed in 2000. What does that mean? That some little oompa loomps came in the middle of the night and replaced the fire proof foam with some lesser grade foam? And since when does an insurance company just settle on that kind of evidence? Sounds like a load of crap to me.
I agree with confused that it is a load of crap- the reason insurance companies settle that kind of claim is because of the following example
Insurance company believes that insured did not cause the loss but they are a defendant in the litigated matter along with several other foam manufacturers. Ins Co projects that to fight this matter to trial will take approx 10 years (maybe more because of the type of claim this is) and insd is unable to PROVE that they DID NOT manufacture the foam and insurance company projects that when they go to trial it will be in the community where the loss occurred – ins co projects that they will NOT prevail with a defense verdict but plaintiffs will win the case and ins co projects that because of the horrid facts of the claim – they jury will probably award plaintiffs and possibly award them more than $25,000,000. Instead of taking a risk with a jury (and a jury is ALWAYS a wild card and unpredictible) they save the costs of litigation (which will probably be in the $10M to $20M range) and settle at an amount they believe will save them $$ in the long run. These types of settlements are not done at the adjuster level but at the level of upper management – the adjuster maintains the claim file – but the decision to settle at $25M is at the level of Claims VP’s and probably CEO level. I agree that this is a sorry thing to do but it is done a lot to “compromise the claim and resolve it prior to trial”. It may not be “right” morally but in a fiduciary sense – it makes sense because the ins co most likely saved $$ by resolving for $25M.
This entire thing is a travesty. We’ve all made these comments before – it’s tragic that people died but most of the money is coming from people not at all responsible for their deaths. Nobody’s even sure this latest company made the foam that caught on fire, yet they’re shelling out (okay, their insurer is shelling out) $25M. Ludicrous.
Yup – we don’t care who made the foam or whether or not it was used properly. We will crush every foam company using legal hellfire until they pay up. Deep pocket targeting strategy always works!
The claim VP or other claims executive that approved this ex gratia payment should be fired. This is an insult to policyholders and investors whose money is being squandered in an unecessary panic. Considering it can’t be established the company even manufactured the insulation and the fact that it was used for other than intended purposes, and the mother-of-all facts that some idiot used pyrotechnics where they weren’t anticipated don’t warrant this kind of payment. Whatever insurance carrier that caved in on this just sent the wrong message to the plaintiff bar that will only encourage their antics on other non-meritorious claims.
Want to know why no one in the US develops new products or technologies and why Research & Development is no longer a priority? Want to know why we’ve gone from an industrial to an “information – service” society, and why so many other contries in the world competitive market are outdistancing the US? Look no further than our Courts….
I do believe this is the first set of comments where everyone, including myself, is in agreement! Way to go.
What the heck, why not just include everyone in the country in this thing & make ’em pay? The claims people, owners of foam company and the attorneys all need to be sent to the middle of the ocean & sunk! One positive note though, when it’s all gone & the US has nothing else left, maybe these idiots will realize the damage they have done (ok, so maybe not).
Well you can’t bring the lot of them into the ocean to sink because foam floats . . .
Insurance Journal Readers Named in Bajilliondy Dollar Suit by RI Nightclub Fire Victims and Families.
…Suit claims readers are said to have general knowledge of how to light matches and/or rub sticks together for making fire; readers failed to notify pyrotechnic dude and club owners of possibility of flames when setting flammable or explosive things on fire…
…Panic settlement expected in a matter of weeks…
Oh my freakin’ goard! I nearly passed out laughing.
“Estate of Elvis Presley Named in Never-ending Suit Searching for the Last Deep Pocket”
The estate of the late Elvis Presley was named today in a suit involving a night club fire. Plaintiff’s lawyers were heard to say, “Elvis was the King of Rock ‘n Roll so it only stands to reason that a band such as Great White would fall in his domain.” No cash has been offered in settlement but free passes to Graceland and a lifetime supply of peanut butter and banana sandwiches have been placed on the table. Settlement awaits approval by a hungry judge and plaintiffs.
Hey, I sent a $1 to Oral Roberts when he was blubering on TV & treatened to do himself in….so I sent a $1 to the foam company, claims people and attorneys. No response yet…will keep you posted.
haven’t these gold digging wh*res raped enough companies yet? these “people” are sick and need serious mental therapy. they are truly sickening.
It was such a tragity that this event took place, but what is even worse is that by the time this is all said and done, insurer’s will have paid out $100’s of millions (further hurting our economy, there will still be families with lost loved ones, and still injured survivers with scars/disabilities that will last a lifetime. Everybody is hurt by this except the lawyers. The lawyers bank accounts are getting FATTER & FATTER!!!
Compensating the injured party is understandable. Compensating (unjustly enriching)survivors who were not dependants is just stupid and unecessary.
…will they ever realize what they have done??? No, because they have just moved into the ever widening elitist rich category having uncovered a previously unexpected fund of undeserved cash. I fully agree but until we can find some way of putting pressure on a legal system that takes care of it’s own, we are all going to keep paying.
Agreed; you’d think that some common sense would enter into these things but NOOOO!…after all, you cannot enrich yourself with insurance; you only get indemnified, made whole to the same status (or close to it) you were in before a loss….so how can courts/juries enrich folks who had nothing before…and remember, capping awards is always subject to some exclusion. I for one am sick of it…
I agree with what everyone said about the insurance company paying $25m when the foam company could not be confirmed as the one that manufactured the foam. It is really disheartening. I know for sure that the most likely reason the $25m settlement occurred is because over the course of fighting the litigation – because if they could not definitively identify the insured as the manufacturer, they probably could not definitively state that the insured did NOT manufacture the foam – so instead of paying $25m in defense costs (the average case costs $75,000+ in litigation fees & this would be no average case and would be in the court system for years) the insurance company prudently decided not to go to trial because it would have cost them the defense costs PLUS a jury award & this is NOT a case to try because it was so terrible and it is probable that a jury would award something & that something would probably be substantial because of the number of fatalities and it was in their community – that said, I do agree that this is a travesity of justice but the insurance company probably saved $$$$ by settling the case and not going to trial. Sorry guys that is the reality of some cases – juries can be crazy in the size of awards.
Am I the only one that’s still amazed at how many people paid to see Great White???
Maybe I didn’t get all the facts of the case, but if one foam company pays out how can you sue all the other foam manufactuers for the same foam? In one part of the article it even says that the foam wasn’t the same as they had installed in 2000. What does that mean? That some little oompa loomps came in the middle of the night and replaced the fire proof foam with some lesser grade foam? And since when does an insurance company just settle on that kind of evidence? Sounds like a load of crap to me.
I agree with confused that it is a load of crap- the reason insurance companies settle that kind of claim is because of the following example
Insurance company believes that insured did not cause the loss but they are a defendant in the litigated matter along with several other foam manufacturers. Ins Co projects that to fight this matter to trial will take approx 10 years (maybe more because of the type of claim this is) and insd is unable to PROVE that they DID NOT manufacture the foam and insurance company projects that when they go to trial it will be in the community where the loss occurred – ins co projects that they will NOT prevail with a defense verdict but plaintiffs will win the case and ins co projects that because of the horrid facts of the claim – they jury will probably award plaintiffs and possibly award them more than $25,000,000. Instead of taking a risk with a jury (and a jury is ALWAYS a wild card and unpredictible) they save the costs of litigation (which will probably be in the $10M to $20M range) and settle at an amount they believe will save them $$ in the long run. These types of settlements are not done at the adjuster level but at the level of upper management – the adjuster maintains the claim file – but the decision to settle at $25M is at the level of Claims VP’s and probably CEO level. I agree that this is a sorry thing to do but it is done a lot to “compromise the claim and resolve it prior to trial”. It may not be “right” morally but in a fiduciary sense – it makes sense because the ins co most likely saved $$ by resolving for $25M.