Insurance Law Commons^™

Insurance - Public Liability Policy - Liability Of Insurer For Punitive Damages And Penalties, Alfred I. Rothman

Michigan Law Review

Under an automobile liability policy, the defendant insurer paid the plaintiff, on his judgment against the insured, the amount of compensatory damages recovered for injuries. The insurer refused, however, to pay the additional sum awarded as double damages under a statute providing that the court in its discretion might award double or treble damages where the injury was caused by a violation of certain statutory rules of the road. By the terms of the policy defendant insurance company agreed to pay "all sums which the insured shall become obligated to pay by reason of liability imposed upon him by law …