Keith Olivera recently obtained a defense verdict for his client, an insurance agent who sold a Commercial General Liability policy to the plaintiff, a construction company. The plaintiff was audited by its insurance company, and the plaintiff was required to pay an additional premium. However, the plaintiff never paid the premium, so its policy was cancelled by its insurance company. The plaintiff alleged that it went a month without insurance because it was never notified of the cancellation. Having no insurance, the plaintiff alleged it lost hundreds of thousands of dollars in business opportunities. So, the plaintiff sued the insurance company, an intermediate insurance broker, and Keith’s client, the agent. The plaintiff argued that the “agency billing” relationship between the three insurance entities created a duty of care towards it, and that the relationship violated the Colorado Consumer Protection Act (the CCPA).
Before trial, Keith Olivera and Dmitry Vilner filed a summary judgment motion that disposed of most of the plaintiff’s claims, including claims based on the alleged duty of care and violation of the CCPA. On the claim remaining for trial, Keith successfully argued to the jury that the plaintiff could not prove his client made an intentional misrepresentation of material fact regarding the audit process or the cancellation of the insurance policy.
