BEAUMONT – A final judgment was recently entered in a lawsuit that resulted in a $113 million jury verdict against United of Omaha Life Insurance last month.
Johnny Costello, individually and as the surviving spouse of Fatima Costello, filed the lawsuit against United nearly two decades ago in Jefferson County District Court.
According to his lawsuit, on Sept. 10, 2002, an agent met with Fatima to sell her a life insurance policy. She signed the application and the agent collected $800 of an annual $1,543 premium. The agent told the Costellos that they were “fully covered” and that if anything happened to Fatima, United would pay life insurance benefits.
On July 2, 2003, Fatima suffered a heart attack and passed away. Johnny made a claim, which United rejected on the grounds that she failed to “indicate a history of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease” on her life insurance application.
Nearly 18 years after Fatima’s death, the case went to trial on June 7 and ended four days later with jurors finding United failed to comply with the insurance policy by not paying $500,000 to Costello.
According to the charge of the court, jurors awarded more than $113 million in damages, plus $1.6 million in attorney’s fees.
The jury, however, failed to unanimously award $1 billion in exemplary damages.
On July 7, a final judgment on the award was entered in the case, court records show.
Judge Justin Sanderson, 60th District Court, presided over the case and signed the judgment.
The plaintiff is represented by Daly & Black attorneys John Black, Melissa Wray, and Rick Daly. The lawsuit was originally handled by Stephen Taggart, who served as co-counsel.
“This jury had the courage to do what’s right after hearing all of the evidence and the excuses the insurance company has made over this 18-year battle,” Black said on the firm’s website. “I feel privileged in leading the team that helped secure this verdict for Mr. Costello. A lot of work went into this case. After so many years of fighting, I’m happy to see justice being served in court.
“We expect the other side to file an appeal but we are confident in the case we built and that justice will prevail.”
Jefferson County case No. B-173189