Ennen v. Public Service Mutual Insurance

ARNOLD, Circuit Judge.

Plaintiffs sued their insurance company, Public Service Mutual Ins. Co., for failure to pay insurance proceeds upon the death of their Arabian horse. The jury awarded plaintiffs $200,000 compensatory damages and $800,000 punitive damages. Defendant appeals, arguing principally that the jury instructions were erroneous for various reasons. We affirm the award of compensatory damages. The award of punitive damages was apparently based upon the alleged bribery of a witness. The bribery issue was not submitted to the jury on proper instructions, and therefore we reverse and…