Frank Gonzales v. Farmers Insurance Exchange, et al.
Published: Aug. 1, 1998 | Result Date: Apr. 15, 1998 | Filing Date: Jan. 1, 1900 |Case number: BC162421 Verdict – $101,563
Judge
Court
L.A. Superior Central
Attorneys
Plaintiff
Defendant
Christopher S. Maile
(Tharpe & Howell LLP)
Experts
Plaintiff
John E. Nordstrand
(technical)
Defendant
Thomas K. MacDonald
(technical)
Facts
The plaintiff, Frank Gonzales, a licensed insurance agent, began selling insurance issued by the Farmers Insurance Group of Companies in 1985. As a Farmers agent, the plaintiff was an independent contractor operating his own business. In 1990, Farmers placed the plaintiff on restricted underwriting authority claiming that Farmers had experienced high losses on policies sold through the plaintiff's agency. Farmers restricted the plaintiff's underwriting authority again in 1992. On June 6, 1995, Farmers wrote the plaintiff a letter advising that it had experienced approximately $600,000 in underwriting losses from the plaintiff's agency over the past five years and that the plaintiff's agency was suffering from attrition and a persistently low production of new business. Per the defendant, his sales production for the previous three years was 30 to 50 percent lower than the average of agents in the same district, division and region; and his agency had shrunk almost 30 percent from policy attrition while other agents in the same region were generally increasing the size of their agencies. Farmers gave the plaintiff six months to reverse the trends. In January 1996, Farmers terminated the plaintiff's appointment agreement effective April 1996. Per the defendant, plaintiff demanded an independent termination review board, which unanimously upheld Farmers' decision. The plaintiff brought this action against the defendant based on breach of contract.
Settlement Discussions
The plaintiff made a settlement demand for $300,000. The defendant made a C.C.P. º998 offer of compromise for $3,500.
Injuries
The plaintiff claimed loss of net future income ranging from $144,000 to $313,000.
Other Information
The verdict was reached approximately 15 months after the case was filed. Per the defendant, the jury rejected the plaintiff's claim against his former supervisor for interference with economic advantage. The breach of contract claim against Farmers is currently up on appeal.
Deliberation
1½ days
Length
14 days
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