Nearly 12 years after Hurricane Rita ripped through the Gulf of Mexico, a Texas jury last week ordered an insurer to pay over $41 million to an oil company that lost an offshore oil-drilling platform and well, including $28 million in punitive damages and more than $1.6 million in attorney fees.

The six-week trial revolved around claims by Houston-based equity firm Prime Natural Resources that the well's insurer, Lloyd's of London, improperly refused to reimburse some of the expenses it incurred to repair and replace it.

Prime was seeking $1.8 million in damages and more than $1 million in attorney fees; lead plaintiffs attorney John Zavitsanos of Houston's Ahmad, Zavitsanos, Anaipakos, Alavi & Mensing said that, once interest and statutory penalties are factored in, he expects the award to climb by a few million dollars more.

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Greg Land

Greg Land covers topics including verdicts and settlements and insurance-related litigation for the Daily Report in Atlanta.

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