Insured, prevailing party entitled to attorneys fees without proof of loss
Regional Air v. Canal Insurance involved a property damage claim between an insurer (Canal) and an insured (Regional). It went to appraisal and the Regional was awarded about $44,000. But, Regional felt it was owed more and went to federal court. Ultimately, the federal court found the appraisal ok, but a jury awarded Regional an additional $12,000 in storage costs. The question became who was the prevailing party since the prevailing party gets attorneys fees.
The trial court erred in entering judgment for only $12,000; the judgment should have been for the full amount awarded -- the $44,000 plus the $12,000. This clearly makes the insured the prevailing party because it was more than the written settlement amount offered by Canal.
The trial court erred in finding that Regional was not entitled to attorneys fees. The notice of the loss was sufficient to satisfy the proof of loss requirement. In addition, the statute, 36 Okla. Stat. § 3629, mandates attorneys fees to the prevailing party. Thus, the case was remanded to the trial court to determine attorneys fees.
Regional was not entitled to interest on the judgment, however. Regional was only entitled to interest on the verdict -- the amount awarded by the jury, not the amount awarded under the appraisal process because that was what the statute provides.
