Consumer Protection & Insurance

Our attorneys have represented numerous clients in connection with claims made under the Massachusetts Consumer Protection Statute, Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 93A, as well as insurance bad faith claims. Violations of 93A stem from unfair methods of competition and unfair or deceptive acts or practices in the conduct of any trade or commerce and may result in the award of treble damages.

Esdaile, Barrett, Jacobs & Mone represented the plaintiff in the seminal case of DiMarzo v. American Mutual Insurance Co., 389 Mass. 85 (1983), that established bad faith and 93A claims in bad faith insurance litigation. The plaintiff had offered to settle his claim for $20,000, the full amount of the insurance coverage. The insurer refused to offer the full $20,000 in coverage claiming that the coverage had been reduced by the insurer’s payment of $2,200 in Personal Injury Protection benefits and administrative expenses. The Supreme Judicial Court upheld a judgment of more than $500,000, which included punitive damages and attorneys’ fees, against the insurer for wrongfully reducing its coverage.