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Punitive damage case could set precedent     (Copyright Thompson’s World Insurance News     Not to be redistributed by individual recipients.)     An insurer in Nova Scotia has lost an appeal of a precedent-setting punitive damage decision.     The Kings Mutual Insurance Co. appealed a jury’s award in a case involving a Shubenacadie barn damaged in 2003’s Hurricane Juan.     The insurer denied the claim saying damage to the barn could have occurred at another time and wasn’t necessarily the result of the hurricane.     When Adrian and Kelly Ackermann sued, jurors said they believed the insurer’s decision to deny cover was made in bad faith and offended their sense of decency.     They awarded the family $55,000 in punitive damages on top of the $265,000 from the farm’s insurance policy.     The Ackermanns’ lawyer Robert Pineo told Thompson’s the decision sets a precedent.     “This is the first punitive damage award upheld by our Court of Appeal against an insurance company,” he said. “We haven’t had a clear illustration of when exactly punitive damages should be awarded. This is that clear illustration.”     In a decision written by Justice Jill Hamilton the Nova Scotia Appeal Court said the actions of Kings were exceptional — justifying an exceptional remedy.     “The jury’s answers to the questions put to it clearly indicate its findings of bad faith in relation to Kings’ denial of coverage under the policy and that King’s conduct offended its sense of decency.     “This indicates the jury was satisfied Kings’ conduct of its investigation was outrageous,” Justice Hamilton said.     “My review of the record satisfies me that this was a conclusion a reasonable jury could reach and that an award of punitive damages was a rational response on the jury’s part to its findings.”     More in our May 17, 2010 edition        Thompson’s World Insurance News P.O. Box 1027,  Waterloo, Ontario,  Canada  N2J 4S1 Tel: 519-579-2500 Fax: 519-745-7321 mpub@sympatico.ca THOMPSON’S WORLD INSURANCE NEWS , Canada’s only independent weekly for p&c insurance professionals, has been the industry’s most trusted news source since 1988.