Alabama Civil Trial Reporter

Montgomery County 2023

(23) KENNETH E. BOLDEN vs. STATE FARM MUTUAL AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE COMPANY (Circuit Court of Montgomery County, Alabama)

County/Docket #/Judge: Montgomery / 03-CV-2020-901073 / Greg Griffin

Plaintiff(s) Attorney(s): G. William Gill, Montgomery, AL

Defendant(s) Attorney(s): Orin C. Odom, III, and Kimberly S. DeShazo of Webster, Henry, et al., Montgomery, AL

Age/Sex/Occupation Of Plaintiff: n/a / M / n/a

Cause Of Injury: Negligence/Motor Vehicle Collision/Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Benefits/Tractor-Trailer Strikes Abandoned Vehicle on Interstate. . On Aug. 31, 2020, plaintiff Kenneth E. Bolden filed a complaint against defendant State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company. He alleged that on March 19, 2018, an uninsured motorist, Diaz Yeni Yaneth Duarte, abandoned his vehicle in the middle of I-65, causing plaintiff, who was driving an 18-wheeler, to strike Duarte’s vehicle. As a result, plaintiff sustained back injuries, which required surgery, and a knee injury. He filed claims for uninsured motorist benefits, breach of contract, and bad faith, in which he had argued that defendant had refused to pay him the full amount of uninsured motorist benefits to which he was entitled. Plaintiff later amended his complaint to add claims for breach of contract and bad faith based on failure to pay medical payments benefits, but subsequently voluntarily dismissed these claims.

Nature Of Injury: Back and knee injuries; lost earnings; pain and suffering.

Expert Witnesses:

Plaintiff's: n/a

Defendant's: Kenneth A. Jaffe, M.D., Orthopedic Surgery, Birmingham, AL

Verdict $700,000 for Plaintiff on Sept. 20, 2023.

Judgment: $700,000 for Plaintiff on Sept. 26, 2023.

Editor’s Note: On Oct. 2, 2023, defendant filed a motion to reduce the verdict to the policy limits of $100,000, to which plaintiff objected.