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ACE Litigation Watch Highlights Bad Faith Lawsuit Filed Against ACE Limited Subsidiary by World Champion Disabled Athlete

^{Published on 2011-04-05 16:25:26 - Market Wire}
 

NEW YORK--([ BUSINESS WIRE ])--ACE Insurance Litigation Watch, the online repository for lawsuits and other claims against the ACE Ltd. insurance company (NYSE: ACE), today highlighted a lawsuit recently filed against ACE American Insurance Company, a subsidiary of ACE Ltd., by the blind water ski world champion Janet Gray. The complaint alleges that ACE American intentionally misrepresented critical policy provisions when denying coverage under a marine policy sold to the owner of a Tampa, FL water-ski school that was training Mrs. Gray for competition.

Janet Gray has spent years fighting to recover from a training accident that has required multiple surgeries, including facial reconstruction. Now, as asserted in the lawsuit, she must fight the insurance company she claims should have provided coverage from the very beginning.

As described in the litigation, Mrs. Gray was training at the McCormick Water Ski School in Tamp Fl in 2004. A series of mistakes led to a high-speed crash that left Mrs. Gray fighting for her life. Mrs. Gray later sued the ski schoola™s owner, who asked his insurance company, ACE American, to defend and indemnify. ACE denied coverage in June 2005 citing, among others, a policy provision limiting coverage to private pleasure use of the ski boat.

Subsequently, as an assignee of McCormicka™s interest in the insurance policy, Mrs. Gray has filed suit against ACE American claiming that ACE had repeatedly misrepresented the existence of a aSki-Safea policy endorsement issued to the ski schoola™s owner that should have provided coverage for Mrs. Graya™s injuries.

Mrs. Graya™s complaint states that, aACE knowingly and intentionally misrepresented the terms of coverage and attempted to deceive the [ski school], to wit: upon being asked for a copy of the Policy by counsel for the [ski school], ACE knowingly provided a copy of the Policy that did not contain the Ski-Safe Endorsement, which was the portion of the Policy that invalidated ACEa™s coverage position.a The complaint also asserts that ACEa™s coverage denial letters makes no reference to the additional coverage provided by the Ski-Safe Endorsement.

Mrs. Graya™s lawsuit against ACE American was filed in Federal Court in Tampa FL on March 9, 2011. ACE American has not yet filed a response.

The ACE American Insurance Company is overseen by ACE Group executive Brian E. Dowd. ACE Limited (NYSE:ACE), which is included in the S&P 500 index, is the parent of companies in the ACE Insurance Group.

ACE Insurance Litigation Watch is currently tracking more than 200 cases in Federal courts alone. The ACE Litigation Index includes numerous other complaints alleging bad faith conduct analogous to the allegations contained in Janet Graya™s lawsuit.

Visit [ www.ACEinsuranceWatch.com ] for more information. ACE Insurance Litigation Watch is not affiliated with the ACE Insurance Group in any way.