Portfolio Center v. Owners Insurance Company - October 2007

Lee Welborn obtained a defense verdict in Portfolio Center v. Owners Insurance Company on October 12, 2007 in Fulton County Superior Court Judge Jackson Bedford’s courtroom following a four-day jury trial. Portfolio Center sued Owners Insurance Company for their alleged bad faith refusal to pay $135,000 for damaged computers and electronic equipment. The Plaintiff’s expert, Robert Ballard, testified that all of the equipment had been damaged by fire, which was covered by the policy.

The defense served the plaintiff with a notice to produce at trial, requiring the plaintiff to bring all of the alleged fire-damaged equipment to court for the jury and the experts to inspect. This was accomplished by a moving company. Defendant’s expert, David Leone of SEA, Ltd., demonstrated to the jury that there was no visible fire damage either on the outside or inside of any of the equipment, even after they were dismantled. The damage had occurred when a tree had fallen against a powerline leading to the building, causing a transient overvoltage of electricity. The policy in question excluded loss or damage caused by artificially generated electrical current, including electrical arcing. The jury determined that the loss was excluded under Owners policy, and that Owners properly refused to pay the claim.