| | | | | what is considered to be "unacceptable fire," and was |
| A lawyer in Charlotte, NC purchased a box of very | | | | obligated to pay the claim. |
| rare and expensive cigars and insured them against | | | | Although the insurance company were amazed by |
| fire among other things. | | | | this ruling they accepted the ruling and paid $15,000 |
| Within a month, having smoked his entire stockpile of | | | | to the lawyer for his loss of the rare cigars in the |
| these high quality cigars and without even paying the | | | | "fires." |
| first months premium on the policy the lawyer filed a | | | | The reason they decided to settle at this stage was |
| claim with the insurance company. | | | | to minimize their legal costs which was likely to cost |
| In his claim, the lawyer stated the cigars were lost "in | | | | much more than the $15,000 settlement. |
| a series of small fires." The insurance company | | | | However this incredible story doesn’t end there. |
| refused to pay, citing the obvious reason: that the | | | | Obviously still reeling from the court judgement the |
| man had smoked the cigars!! | | | | insurance company decided to play the lawyer at his |
| Incredibly, the lawyer sued the insurance | | | | own game and reported the situation to the police |
| company....and won! | | | | who arrested him on 24 counts of ARSON! |
| In delivering the ruling the judge agreed with the | | | | Using the paperwork from his own insurance claim |
| insurance company that the claim was frivolous. The | | | | and testimony from the previous case against him, |
| judge stated nevertheless, that the lawyer held a | | | | the lawyer was convicted of intentionally burning his |
| policy from the company in which it had warranted | | | | insured property and was sentenced to 24 months in |
| that the cigars were insurable and also guaranteed | | | | jail and a $24,000.00 fine! |
| that it would insure them against fire, without defining | | | | |