Joan Hangarter v. Provident Life and Accident Insurance Company, and the Paul Revere Life Insurance Company Unumprovident Corp.

Joan Hangarter, a chiropractor who operated her own business, obtained an “own occupation” disability insurance policy in 1989 from Paul Revere Life Insurance Company. She filed a claim for total disability in July 1997 based on shoulder, elbow, and wrist pain. Paul Revere paid Hangarter benefits for an eleven-month period and then terminated her benefits based upon the opinion of its medical examiners and claim investigators that Han-garter was not “totally disabled” and continued to work and earn income, making her ineligible for benefits under the policy. Hangarter brought a diversity action alleging violation of Cal. Bus. & Prof.Code § 17200 (the Unfair Competition Act, or UCA), breach of contract, breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing, and intentional misrepresentation against Paul Revere and its parent company, Un-umProvident Corp. The jury returned a $7,670,849 verdict in Hangarter’s favor, $5 million of which was for punitive damages. Raising a multitude of issues, Defendants appeal the district court’s post-verdict denial of judgment as a matter of law (JMOL), the jury’s award of damages, and a permanent injunction issued by the district court under the…