Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Mississippi, Inc. v. Maas

GRIFFIN, Justice,

for the Court:

This case, involving punitive damages for an insurer’s bad faith, comes to the Court from the Circuit Court of Smith County, where a jury awarded Stanley E. Maas and Kathy Maas $1,820 in actual damages and $100,000 in punitive damages. We affirm.

On October 1, 1984, Kathy Maas entered Smith County General Hospital for surgery. Her husband, Stanley E. Maas, an employee of Raleigh Forest Products, Inc., held family health insurance coverage from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Mississippi, Inc. (Blue Cross), through his employer’s group plan.

On October 3,1984, Mary…