Correction: "Attorney Chad Hemmat Wins...Claim Against State Farm" (October 17, 2013)

In a press release dated October 17, 2013, Chad Hemmat of Anderson Hemmat stated that he had "recently won a bad faith insurance claim against State Farm," referring to Arapahoe County District Court, Case No. 12CV1672.

The press release stated that "bad faith insurance claim" meant "that the insurance company was accused of failing to provide the coverage and services entitled to the policyholders." By that definition, Hemmat was correct. The jury in 12CV1672 had found that State Farm had delayed in providing benefits to its policyholder. But that's not how Colorado law defines "bad faith." Under Colorado law, "bad faith breach of an insurance contract" means that the insurer delayed in providing benefits and that its delay was unreasonable. Although the jury did find that State Farm had breached its insurance contract by delaying payment to its insured, the jury did not find that State Farm's delay was unreasonable. Therefore, it is incorrect to say that Anderson Hemmat obtained a verdict against State Farm for bad faith breach of an insurance contract. When they learned of this error, Hemmat and Anderson Hemmat removed the press release from their own website and their FaceBook page. They have, however, recently learned that the press release still occasionally appears on the Internet. They regret the error and they are doing what they can to correct it wherever it shows up.

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