$6 Million Arbitration Award After Drunk Wrong-Way Driver on I-29 Left Insurer With No Defense
Won by Dollar, Burns, Becker & Hershewe.
Jennifer Britt was struck by an intoxicated wrong-way driver on Interstate 29; after American Family declined to participate in binding arbitration, an arbitrator awarded $5,998,027 including $4 million in punitive damages, and the insurer lost its later bid to challenge the award in court.
What happened
In 2017, Jeremy M. Otto drove the wrong way on Interstate 29 in Andrew County, Missouri while intoxicated and collided with Jennifer A. Britt's vehicle. Otto carried an American Family Mutual Insurance policy with a $100,000 liability limit. After American Family offered only that policy limit, Britt's attorneys argued that additional coverage existed under a 'first aid expenses' provision in the policy, bringing the total available coverage into dispute.
Rather than proceed in conventional litigation, Britt and Otto entered into a binding arbitration agreement under Missouri's section 537.065, which allows an injured plaintiff and a defendant to resolve claims outside court when a carrier has declined to cover the full exposure. American Family received notice of the arbitration but chose not to participate within the 30-day window the statute allows. That decision proved consequential.
The arbitrator awarded $5,998,027 in April 2018. The breakdown: $4 million in punitive damages, $1.8 million for pain and suffering, approximately $35,584 attributable to the disputed first-aid coverage, and remaining economic damages. When Britt moved in Jackson County Circuit Court to confirm the award, American Family sought to intervene, arguing it had rights under section 537. Judge Jennifer Phillips denied the motion and confirmed the award in full with post-judgment interest.
American Family appealed. On March 26, 2019, the Missouri Court of Appeals Western District affirmed, with Judge Cynthia L. Martin writing that because the insurer had passed on arbitration participation after receiving proper notice, it had forfeited its right to intervene at the confirmation stage. The opinion, published as Britt v. Otto, 577 S.W.3d 133 (Mo. App. W.D. 2019), became a significant reference point in Missouri's evolving 537.065 caselaw.
Tom Hershewe of Dollar, Burns, Becker and Hershewe represented Britt. Following the appellate ruling, Britt pursued a garnishment action in Jackson County seeking to collect the $5,998,027 directly from American Family.
Sources
This account is drawn from contemporaneous public reporting and the court record.
- 1.Missouri Lawyers Media: 'Insurer stuck with $6M award from 065 arbitration' (Mar. 29, 2019)·Archived copy
- 2.Britt v. Otto, 577 S.W.3d 133 (Mo. App. W.D. 2019): Missouri Court of Appeals published opinion (Justia)·Archived copy
- 3.Mondaq / legal trade press: 'Missouri Appellate Court: Insurer's 537 Protections May Not Apply To Underlying Arbitration'
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