Steven Bader Wins Jury Trial in Federal Court

Attorney Steven Bader recently won a jury trial in the United States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina. Bader represented an insurance company in a first-party property damage lawsuit. The policyholder, a hotel, alleged damage due to wind and hail. The insurance company denied the claim. The parties disputed coverage, namely, whether the damage was caused by a covered cause of loss. A declaratory judgment action was later filed in federal court.

At trial, the insurance company’s evidence showed that the damage was not caused by wind or hail. The evidence also showed that certain damage predated the policy period. The jury heard testimony from five witnesses, including two experts, who offered competing causation opinions.

In the end, the jury rendered a verdict for Bader’s insurance carrier. The court then entered a declaratory judgment for the carrier and ruled that the damage to the building was not caused by a covered cause of loss.