Tuesday, May 25, 2010

What do you think of this ruling?

This is a story meant as a joke but I'm not sure if it could turn out real and would like to have your opinion.

A guy buys insurance for a carton of cigarettes to protect them from damage, intentional or otherwise. He then goes on to light them, ie smokes them and tried to claim the insurance, since after smoking them, it is technically "damaged". He successfully claimed the insurance for the item but once the damage was paid out, the insurance company sued him for arson. He was jailed for 2 years.

Is such a scenario possible in the United States?
Answers:
Anything is possible with some of the shyster lawyers we have here.
I doubt if an insurance company would sell a policy on cigarettes, but as the other person noted, they might insure a box of extremely valuable cigars. They write policies on fine wines. If you are rich and have a wine cellar with several thousand dollars worth of old wine, it would be insured against theft and natural peril. Of course it would not cover you opening a bottle for a dinner and consuming it on purpose. The same thing may be true of a walk-in humidor. Some people have several thousand dollars worth of cigars at any one time. I would imagine a policy under homeowners insurance to insure against natural disaster, theft, or the entire house burning down. Insurance companies will insure just about anything, as long as you are able and willing to pay the premium.. But then they get you with the fine print.
And you do not have to burn a building to be charged with arson.
I heard the same thing with a box of expensive cigars, and I was never sure the story was true.
This scenario is definately not possible- one because by setting the cigarettes aflame himself, he would not be able to claim insurance on them because he purposely caused the damage
two- because smoking a cigarette is not arson (or we would see a lot more people in jail)
and three- because no insurance company is gonna insure a carton of cigarettes- it doesn't have any real value
Along the lines of the law it seems to play out as something that could happen... but i doubt it ever would.
Absolutely possible. I may be mistaken and only heard a similar "joke", but I believe there was once a guy who bought a box of extremely rare and expensive cigars, insured them, smoked them, and claimed the insurance money. Got the money, but was charged and prosecuted for arson.

Even if it is a joke, it is completely possible. In addition to arson, i think insurance fraud could be another charge.

To be honest, I don't know if any insurance company would insure cigarettes or cigars, but even if they did, im sure smoking them would be an exception to the policy.

All in all, it probably has happened b.c there are always people out there trying to make a quick buck and most of those people do something stupid to do it.

But to answer your question, it is completely possible that this scenario could happen in the United States.
Is someone can sue McDonald's for hot coffee, who knows what other stupid rulings might occur.
No insurance company in the WORLD would insure a carton of cigarettes UNLESS they were made of SOLID GOLD!!! This scenerio is HIGHLY UNLIKELY in the USA...definitely wouldn't happen here in New York and if ANYTHING weird is going on in the USA, it's either going on in LA or New York...
Not possible. The judge would dismiss the lawsuit without a trial. He would then fine the lawyer who brought the suit and report him to the state bar for disciplinary action. True the bar is very low for lawyers, but it is a little higher than this.
I all depends on the fine print of the insurance. Regardless whether or not arson is involved, there may be something that says that you can't purposely destroy the item in question. That would make him guilty of insurance fraud.
No...an insurance company wold never insure a carton of cigarettes unless you promised to not smoke them and if you did it would nulify the policy,.

Also in every state arson is the burning of a building...so burning a pack of cigarettes would not subject one to criminal liability...and when a company sues you are not jailed...the district attorney must prosecute you...
Its not a true story.go to.. snopes.com.. and they will say its false.

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