Littlefield Settlement in The Citizen

[playinghooky]

http://www.citizen.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060621/CITIZEN0103/106210166/-1/CITIZEN


Wednesday, June 21, 2006
Civil case settled in boating death

By BEA LEWIS Staff Writer
blewis@citizen.com

MANCHESTER — A wrongful death suit filed against a Meredith man convicted of negligent homicide for a boating accident that killed a retired airline pilot has been settled out of court.

Karen Hartman, of 38 Pinecrest Drive, Bedford, acting as executrix of her late husband's estate, filed a civil suit against Daniel Littlefield of Meredith in Hillsborough County Superior Court in December of 2002.

The case was scheduled to go to trial this month, but court records indicate the case was settled for an undisclosed amount. Lawyers representing both Hartman and Littlefield did not return phone calls seeking comment.

See the Citizen article for the complete story

[fatlazyless]

It certainly seems like the defense attorneys at the crimial level and the plaintiff's attorney at the civil level both did a very good job and both have had a big pay day.

By beating the State of NH on the charge of boating while intoxicated, the defendant got off with a much shorter prison sentence and his liability insurance pays up. If he had been convicted of boating while intoxicated I doubt very much his insurance company would have to pay the settled claim from the 4 million dollar civil lawsuit.

By the way, didn't he have a huge liability policy? How many people have liability insurance for 5 million dollars as part of their home owners policy?

[Acres per Second]

Four years for a Civil Lawsuit to be settled isn't too bad. (But too bad for cases where the surviving spouse is elderly and may not survive long enough to see a proper resolution.) That Littlefield's insurance refused to pay was another factor—upheld by the courts two years ago.

I discovered one New Hampshire Civil Lawsuit that is decades old: The case involves use of lakefront land for RVs, and is still in the courts. Both of the original defendants (and some of the plaintiffs) have since expired of natural causes. The case has passed from one defendant's generation to the next!

[ossipeeboater]

By the way, didn't he have a huge liability policy? How many people have liability insurance for 5 million dollars as part of their home owners policy?


for anyone with assets a liability umbrella is something they should have, it's only a few hundred a year per million in coverage. Given todays litigious society it's better to be safe than sorry.

[fatlazyless]

This case shows why it can help a lot to have good legal representation. With a lesser legal defense, the defendant would have a much longer prison sentence and his 5mil insurance coverage would have been a no-pay. So in a roundabout and a very upside-down way, the family of the deceased benefitted by getting a bigger pay out because the defendant's insurance coverage agreed to pay.

Two morals here. 1) You cannot bring back the dead, and 2) Rich or poor, you are better off to be rich when it comes to your legal defense.


Concerning a 5mil umbrella insurance policy for say $200./mil coverage. That is a heck of a lot of coverage for very little money. Sounds too good to be true. What's the rest of the story?

[ossipeeboater]

This case shows why it can help a lot to have good legal representation. With a lesser legal defense, the defendant would have a much longer prison sentence and his 5mil insurance coverage would have been a no-pay. So in a roundabout and a very upside-down way, the family of the deceased benefitted by getting a bigger pay out because the defendant's insurance coverage agreed to pay.

Two morals here. 1) You cannot bring back the dead, and 2) Rich or poor, you are better off to be rich when it comes to your legal defense.


Concerning a 5mil umbrella insurance policy for say $200./mil coverage. That is a heck of a lot of coverage for very little money. Sounds too good to be true. What's the rest of the story?

I just got my renewal and it was just over 200 for $1 million umbrella, I'm actually thinking of going to 2 million umbrella(just under $300 premium because with juries today even if you really didn't do anything wrong you may get screwed and I want to protect my families future. It's cheap because it only kicks in after the liability from the car/house/boat policy. Here's a link to a basic info site about umbrella coverage.

http://www.iii.org/individuals/auto/b/umbrella/

[Airwaves]

Ossipeeboater,

So what you are saying is that the umbrella policy will kick in AFTER all other liability policies are exhausted? What does the umbrella policy protect, car, boat, homeower, etc?

It seems like a great deal but there has to be a catch.

I went to the site and understand that assets must be substanial, but it isn't clear if those are total assets or individual assest. In other words my boat is not worth anything near the lower limit, but if I add all the assets I hold, that could be a different story.

[BlackCatIslander]

I have had a one million dollar umbrella policy for well over 20 years. For each of the last three years it cost $165 per year. With inflation and legal awards rising , this prompts me to get a two million dollar policy.

[ossipeeboater]

I have had a one million dollar umbrella policy for well over 20 years. For each of the last three years it cost $165 per year. With inflation and legal awards rising , this prompts me to get a two million dollar policy.


agreed I called my agent after reading this to go to either 2 or 3 million, I've had 1 million since I bought my first house in 1993.

Airwaves yes after your car, boat or homeowners liability limit is exceeded this kicks in. You usually have to have a minimum of $250-500k in coverage on those then this would be available, no catch really. even though it's attached to my primary it covers issues on my second home as well as the snwmobiles, jet skis and boats.

[jrc]

Umbrella policies protect you beyond all your other policies. Which means if you're liable in an auto accident and your auto policy is insufficient to cover the liability, the umbrella will pick up the difference up to the limits of the policy. They also cover you if your liable for something that falls outside your existing policies. I can't think of a good example. They're relatively cheap because most of your typical liabilities fall in your existing coverage.

If you don't have sufficient existing policies, you usually can't get an umbrella plan, or it will be very pricey. If you don't have significant assets, most insurance companies will not sell you an umbrella. They don't want to pay out a claim for 2 million to protect your assets, when your total assets are worth $2000.

[upthesaukee]

Umbrella policies protect you beyond all your other policies. Which means if you're liable in an auto accident and your auto policy is insufficient to cover the liability, the umbrella will pick up the difference up to the limits of the policy. They also cover you if your liable for something that falls outside your existing policies. I can't think of a good example. They're relatively cheap because most of your typical liabilities fall in your existing coverage.

If you don't have sufficient existing policies, you usually can't get an umbrella plan, or it will be very pricey. If you don't have significant assets, most insurance companies will not sell you an umbrella. They don't want to pay out a claim for 2 million to protect your assets, when your total assets are worth $2000.

I too have an umbrella policy. I also have extremely high limits on my primary (underlying) insurance. I have concerns about liability issues at my house, in and about my vehicles, and in and about my boat. I also have liability issues whereas I play golf (if you've seen me play, you'll know why ;) ). I also am involved in volunteer activities, and that can have very real consequences as well.

I used to be in Personal Lines Underwriting for an insurance company and could not believe the number of people who did not want to protect themselves for liability, but would go to the nth degree for property. Society was litigious then, and after 10 years of being out of insurance, I know from the outside it is considerably worse.

As a side note, when I changed from a 112 hp Evinrude :( to my 135 Merc Optimax :) , that 23 HP change required me to go from $300K homeowners liability to $500k, or I would have lost my Umbrella coverage. That is probably why the underlying insurance on Mr. Littlefield's boat was so high, due to the liability exposure of the boat. Before the umbrella policy would kick in, the homeowners would pay the first $5 million.

If nothing else folks, take a look at your own exposures for liability, and talk to your agent. (When you get to know them, they are a cut above the used car salesman. Really!!!!!:D )

[Cobalt]

An umbrella liability policy is very important considering our litigious society. Insurance companies weigh your risk profile in considering premiums and whether or not they want to issue the additional insurance. The type of boat you own, along with hp and top speed, and whether any operators are under the age of 25 effect your rate and insurability. Also, if you own a jet ski with underage operators they may be excluded from the policy so be sure to specifically include them. Snowmobiles seem to be less of a problem. Bottom line: make sure that you are fully covered or at least know what is excluded from the umbrella.