Mag Mutual Insurance Companyv.Estate Of James S. Tapley et al.
After a $15 million medical-malpractice judgment arising from James Tapley’s death, his estate sued the defendants’ insurer, MagMutual, over delayed payment of policy limits and postjudgment interest. The Court of Appeals held that the estate could not recover a separate amount for the time value of delayed policy-limit money under the theory it pleaded. But it affirmed partial summary judgment that the insurer owed postjudgment interest and allowed the estate’s related claims and request for attorney fees to continue because the complaint alleged more than an ordinary failure to pay a debt. The court therefore reversed the refusal to dismiss only the time-value damages theory and otherwise affirmed. The opinion separates interest owed on an existing judgment from an additional damages claim based solely on payment delay.
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