State Farm Automobile Insurance Co. v. Stamps

LARRY D. VAUGHT, Chief Judge.

Appellee Eda Stamps filed suit against appellant State Farm Automobile Insurance Company seeking underinsured motor-vehicle coverage. After a jury rendered a $135,000 verdict in her favor, the Sebastian County Circuit Court entered an order awarding Eda a statutory penalty and attorney’s fees. State Farm appeals from this order, arguing that the trial court erred in awarding the penalty and fees because the amount Eda recovered at trial was not within twenty percent of the amount she demanded or sought in her suit as required by Arkansas statute. We affirm.

In June…