Only In America™

Toolbox™

Active Member
I got this message on an e-mail today... thought you guys might enjoy this:

both funny and true!

A Charlotte, NC, lawyer (this can only happen in America) purchased a box of very rare and expensive cigars, then insured them against fire among other things.

Within a month having smoked his entire stockpile of these great cigars and without yet having made even his first premium payment on the policy, the lawyer filed a claim against the insurance company.

In his claim, the lawyer stated the cigars were lost "in a series of small fires".

The insurance company refused to pay, citing the obvious reason:- that the man had consumed the cigars in the normal fashion.

The lawyer sued and won!

In delivering the ruling the judge agreed with the insurance company that the claim was frivolous.

The Judge stated nevertheless, that the lawyer held a policy from the company in which it had warranted that the cigars were insurable and also guaranteed that it would insure them against fire, without defining what is considered to be "unacceptable fire" and was obligated to pay the claim.

Rather than endure a lengthy and costly appeal process, the insurance company accepted the ruling and paid $15,000 to the lawyer for his loss of the rare cigars, lost in the " fires".

NOW FOR THE BEST PART.

After the lawyer cashed the cheque, the insurance company had him arrested on 24 counts of ARSON!!!!

With his own insurance claim and testimony from the previous case being used against him, the lawyer was convicted of intentionally burning his insured property and was sentenced to 24 months in jail and a $24,000 fine.

This is a true story and was the 1st place winner in the recent Criminal Lawyers Award.
 
This has got to be an urban legend. I find it extremely hard to believe that the first court case would have been lost, since the insurance company could not have been held liable for fires that were deliberately started. Even if it wasn't there was no exact definition for what sort of fire was covered, it's understood that setting fire to the property yourself is not covered. No insurance company would've missed that point, and no lawyer could've lost that first case.
 
i would lose the first case just to screw the other guy in a second case :D
 
that was hilarious!! i got an email similar to that which was where a guy had broken into a house and was caught. his arm as the only thing inside the house so the jude sentenced his arm. those stories are so much fun. thanx toolbox.
 
Bullshitttttttt! Huh...oh, was this an old thread? Owell....i'd still need to see proof to believe it.
 
I love this story it teaches you one thing what goes around comes around! I bet after he won it he was like :idea: and after they sued him for arson he was like :cuss: :eek2: :bash:
 
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