It took more than two years, but Mario Monacelli finally feels vindicated.
The 66-year-old Phoenix man's lawsuit against a Utah-based insurance carrier has resulted in a $16 million jury award, one of the largest in Arizona history."We have been vindicated and it's a beautiful feeling," said Monacelli, 66. "American justice works. It takes time, but it works."
Monacelli, an Italian immigrant who has run a yogurt shop in downtown Phoenix with his wife since 1987, took out a medical insurance policy with Salt Lake City-based Gem Insurance Co. in December 1993.
In July 1994, Monacelli learned he had cancer after a routine chest X-ray showed a spot on the upper lobe of his right lung.
A pack-a-day smoker for more than 30 years, Monacelli underwent surgery to remove the mass on his lung less than a month after the cancer diagnosis.
In October of that year, on the same day he received his last radiation treatment, Monacelli said his insurance agent called to say his major medical policy had been rescinded.
That left the Monacellis holding $68,000 in medical bills, and they couldn't find another carrier.
The couple made repeated attempts to find out the details of why Gem canceled their policy. They say they got no answers, so they hired an attorney.
On May 2, after a three-week trial, a Maricopa County Superior Court jury here awarded the Monacellis $16 million - $1 million in compensatory damages and $15 million in punitive damages.
"There is no precedent for a verdict of this magnitude in a case in which an insurance company has relied on information provided by an applicant," said Kurt Davis, a spokesman for Gem. "We believe there are strong reasons to overturn the verdict, and we will ask the court to do so."
During the trial, the insurance company said the Monacellis had withheld information about pre-existing conditions on their medical history on the application questionnaire.
But the couple's attorneys said they found that Gem automatically scrutinized any claims over $10,000 and that there were other policyholders who had been afforded similar treatment as the Mona-cel-lis. Three of them testified in the trial.
The company's own books showed that during 1994 and 1995, it had more than $1 million in claims that were not paid due to rescinded policies, the Monacelli's attorneys said.
Monacelli and his wife, Christina, realize it could be a few years before they ever see a penny from the court case.
"Jurors told us after the verdict that they wanted to do the right thing, they wanted to make a statement," Christina Monacelli said. "I hope we are an inspiration for others who might be afraid to take on a big company."