Courts grants judgment against insurance company, in favor of cancer patients in class action

The United States District Court of South Carolina awarded $7.9 million to cancer patients in a breach-of-contract suit against two insurance companies, reports Fred Horlbeck in the January 12, 2009 edition of South Carolina Lawyer’s Weekly.

The Court’s decision resolves the parties’ differences over damages. The defendants have filed an appeal with the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. Most class actions end with a dismissal or a settlement, but the recent award via summary judgment in Ward v. Dixie National Life Ins. Co., C/A No. 3:03-3239-JFA, was “unique” said Dick Harpootlian of Columbia.

The Court’s summary judgment ruling was the second handed down in the case since the Fourth Circuit held a hearing in 2007 on the issue of liability reversing the lower court and ordering it to grant summary judgment in favor of the class of cancer patients.

Contact South Carolina Lawyers Weekly, http://www.scweekly.com/, for the full article.

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