Baker McKenzie secured a key win for Wing Inflatables against Certain Underwriters at Lloyd's of London following a three-week jury trial in Superior Court in California.
The jury rendered a verdict against Lloyd's for breach of contract and bad faith and awarded compensatory damages and punitive damages exceeding USD 18 million, not including interest and attorneys' fees.
The case concerned the wrongful handling of a claim made by Wing under a representations and warranties insurance policy that Wing purchased in connection with a 2019 business acquisition. After the acquisition closed, Wing found errors in the warranted financial statements and made a claim on the insurance policy in May 2020.
After a three-week trial in San Francisco Superior Court, a jury reached a verdict in favor of Wing on all of its claims, awarding compensatory damages and separately awarding USD 15,000,000 in punitive damages. The Court subsequently entered judgment against the Lloyd's syndicates in the amount of USD 19,266,297, including prejudgment interest. Wing has filed a motion to recover its attorneys' fees and costs incurred in the litigation as a result of having to sue the Lloyd's syndicates to recover the amounts due under the insurance policy.
The Baker McKenzie trial team consisted of Mark Goodman, Barry Thompson, Michael Boardman, Henna Bhandal, Amaury Gateau Velayos, Peter Barto, Nada Hitti, Christine Estrada and Carmen Ayala.
Baker McKenzie's litigation practice is one of the most recognized and largest globally, with more than 1,000 dispute resolution practitioners in 46 countries. In North America, the Firm's Trial Team consists of more than 150 lawyers, paralegals, trial technologists consultants and legal project managers, who dedicate their practice entirely to litigation. Consistently top-ranked by leading market surveys, Baker McKenzie represents clients in complex litigation across the globe. The Firm's cases frequently involve novel and precedent-setting issues in countries around the world, including markets where competing law firms do not have a local presence.