Campbell v. Cal-Gard Surety Services, Inc

In Campbell v. Cal-Gard Surety Services, Inc. (1998) 62 Cal.App.4th 563, the plaintiff, represented by counsel under a contingency fee contract, recovered a judgment against an insurer for both breach of the insurance policy and bad faith. However, the trial court denied the plaintiff's request for Brandt damages, concluding defendant had not acted in bad faith. The Court reversed. Since "the jury found in the plaintiff's favor" on her bad faith claim, "the trial court did not have authority to simply make different factual findings." ( Id. at p. 572.) In addition, we approved the plaintiff's request for $ 13,010 in Brandt damages, noting the insurer "did not challenge the reasonableness of the amount." (Ibid.)