Tony's Appeal Dropped

[jsw14]

Tony Stewart withdraws appeal against insurance company

By Dustin Long Jan 5, 2017, 5:13 PM EST

Court documents show that Tony Stewart has withdrawn his appeal of a district court?s ruling that Axis Insurance Company is not responsible for any claims against Stewart in the death of Kevin Ward Jr.

No reason was given for the action. Stewart may reinstate his appeal by Jan. 30, according to court documents.

By withdrawing the appeal, Stewart could be responsible for all costs defending himself and any damages awarded to Ward?s family in its lawsuit or if there was a settlement.

NBC sent requests for comment to Stewart?s attorneys. They had yet to respond.

Judge David N. Hurd ruled July 29, 2016, in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York that Axis was ?not obligated to defend? Stewart in the Ward lawsuit and granted Axis? motion for summary judgment.

The Ward family?s lawsuit against Stewart remains. The case has been sent to mandatory mediation. That is to be completed by March 31, 2017.

Ward died Aug. 9, 2014, after he was struck by Stewart?s sprint car during a race at Canandaigua (N.Y.) Motorsports Park. Ward, 20, exited his car after hitting the wall and walked down the track toward Stewart?s car during the caution when he was hit and killed. An Ontario County (N.Y.) grand jury ruled Sept. 24, 2014, that Stewart would not face criminal charges.

The Ward family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Stewart on Aug. 7, 2015, claiming that Stewart ?wrongfully caused Mr. Ward?s death by acting with wanton, reckless and malicious intent and negligence.??

Stewart claimed the incident was unintentional.

[HiddenHollow]

Wonder how long this will drag out. Will it end up in court or will some settlement be reached in the Ward family lawsuit.

[Annalee]

The fact that a date for Tony to appeal again was given, leads me to believe that will probably happen......Don't you just love Insurance companies, you pay into them and when you need them, they leave you high and dry....Pathetic.....I am sure his premiems were incredibly high..... I wonder what their lame excuse was for non payment :s_mad .. :s_mad

[HiddenHollow]

As Mrs HH says: insurance companies rule the world.

[jsw14]

Wonder how long this will drag out. Will it end up in court or will some settlement be reached in the Ward family lawsuit.

Tell the $$$$ R set Under the table "Out of Court"

[blue oval_4]

Wonder how long this will drag out. Will it end up in court or will some settlement be reached in the Ward family lawsuit.

Tell the $$$$ R set Under the table "Out of Court"

I'd bet the Wards are waiting for payment, settled in litigation! :s_thumbsup

[smokieonefour]

As a former insurance agent ( auto, home, umbrella, etc - just NO health ) I have to chime in here. I'm not sure if I mentioned this before ... but a few comments have made me want to state a few facts, that some are missing.

The reason Axis does not have to pay ... is because the race was NOT covered. Had someone from Tony Stewarts camp contacted the insurance company PRIOR to the race and asked for a certificate of coverage.... they would have KNOWN he was NOT covered and could have chosen to buy insurance for that race. None of that was done. None of that is the insurance company's fault - it is Tony Stewart's camp's fault.

As an agent, I would receive up to 10 requests a week for companies asking for the proof they were covered for an event. It's not a new thing. It's not a hard thing to get - 1 call and one fax - done. Do not blame the insurance company - this was Tony Stewart's mgmt's fault, pure, simple and 100%.

Insurance companies do not rule the world. They pay out losses that FAR exceed payments received from folks, on a regular basis. When insurance companies pay ( when one is covered ) they're great - when they don't pay ( not covered ) they suck. ? ? ? So which one is it ?

[jsw14]

Ahhhh, Good Info smokie But if Kevin Ward followed the Rule's of the Race & Stayed in his car, HE would be alive today....> But HE didn't

[WildFrehley]

As a former insurance agent ( auto, home, umbrella, etc - just NO health ) I have to chime in here. I'm not sure if I mentioned this before ... but a few comments have made me want to state a few facts, that some are missing.

The reason Axis does not have to pay ... is because the race was NOT covered. Had someone from Tony Stewarts camp contacted the insurance company PRIOR to the race and asked for a certificate of coverage.... they would have KNOWN he was NOT covered and could have chosen to buy insurance for that race. None of that was done. None of that is the insurance company's fault - it is Tony Stewart's camp's fault.

As an agent, I would receive up to 10 requests a week for companies asking for the proof they were covered for an event. It's not a new thing. It's not a hard thing to get - 1 call and one fax - done. Do not blame the insurance company - this was Tony Stewart's mgmt's fault, pure, simple and 100%.

Insurance companies do not rule the world. They pay out losses that FAR exceed payments received from folks, on a regular basis. When insurance companies pay ( when one is covered ) they're great - when they don't pay ( not covered ) they suck. ? ? ? So which one is it ?

sometimes you and i do not always agree on everything, but you nailed it here, whomever from the Stewart camp, dropped the ball, so that mistake falls on them, fact of the matter insurance companies are in it to make money, now that doesnt mean they are cold in the way the deal with customers, they have a set a rules and guidelines so we as customers agree to them, i recently had hail damage to my house, i had the money in less then a week so i could get repairs made, sure enough tho my homeowners insurance went up, i kinda knew that was going to happen

[smokieonefour]

I hope we never agree on things, 100% of the time, my friend. Life would be too boring.
Anyways, I loves ya, even when, or if, I'm mad at ya, or vice versa.

Not to turn this into an insurance blog.... but.... maybe some folks can use the advice I used to give to homeowners, thinking of filing a claim.

Is the situation a "catastrophe" ( or a "disaster") to YOU and your situation?

Is a broken, plate glass front window a disaster? If yes, file a claim. If no, pay the bill.
Does the disaster costs exceed your deductible? If no, don't file a claim. If yes, still... consider before filing a claim.

Once a claim has been filed - either for a broken window or major flooding - it is the RISK that has now increased, therefore, you get a mark and your insurance goes up. That is WHY the price increases - because the risk just went up.

Insurance rates are compiled by bean counters, in tiny basement offices, furiously pounding away at numbers and statistics, which give them a "risk indicator." There are many factors that add or subtract from that, but out comes a number that matches a risk. Every company is there to make a profit - but insurance companies deal, primarily in the risk dept. and have, since Llyods of London and even further back, than that, in history.

Some folks mistakenly feel and act upon a gut reaction of "Well I've paid into it for so long, I want some of my money back" and do get it ... but that is going to come at a cost, in higher risks = higher premium. So before you increase your risks, to the bean counters... ask yourself if it is worth it. Everyone and every situation will be different, but the same question remains.

So don't be fooled by commercials that claim "Why have insurance if you have to pay to use it?" - that same company plays by the same rules, as the others do, as mandated by a state's dept of insurance. That's the way it goes - both you and the insurance company are taking a gamble or risk - and either paying for it or getting paid for it. It breaks down, that simply.

One last tip I gave to homeowners, 20 times a day, every day was - check your property damage amount on your homeowner's policy. Chances are, you were quoted low, ( to get a low quote - maybe 50K ) but you can bump it up, to like a million dollars - for usually just a few more dollars. If you have 50K property damage - ask for a quote to increase it - and see how cheap it is.

I hope my little soap box spiel will grow some legs and truly help some folks on here, in the future.

p.s. if anyone has any questions, you can always ask me. I'm not licensed anymore, but I know there are a few other licensed agents on here, too.