Partner Nelson E. Canter Secures $872,762 Jury Verdict Plus Prejudgment Interest for a Total Judgment of $1,381,283.39 Insurance Case Against BMW of North America

Partner Nelson E. Canter, who heads the firm’s national Insurance Subrogation Practice Group, recently secured a notable victory with co-counsel John Donovan III of Sloane and Walsh in Boston, Massachusetts.

On September 28, 2021, an eight-member jury returned a unanimous verdict in favor of Amica Mutual Insurance Company (“Amica”) in the case of Amica Mutual Insurance Co. a/s/o Amy and Paul Loukadis v. BMW North America, Inc. (Case 6:16-cv-06749-DGL-MW). The verdict included $872,762.02 in damages plus prejudgment interest from the date of loss, April 11, 2015, for a total judgment amount of $1,381,283.39.

This insurance subrogation action, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York, arose out of the insureds’ self-ignition of their 2011 BMW X3 while it was parked in their garage. The fire spread to the house and caused extensive property damage in the amount of $872,762.02; which Amica paid to its insureds. There have been several reports of certain models of BMW vehicles self-igniting and this case was among the first to go to verdict.