Vaidik, J.
Case Summary
In April 2006, central Indiana suffered a large hailstorm. Joseph Radcliff formed a company to repair the storm-damaged homes. State Farm Fire & Casualty Company began denying many of its policyholders’ claims even though other insurance companies were paying similar claims. Radcliff and his company offered to help the State Farm policyholders. Amid a flurry of bad publicity about State Farm’s claims response which in part was generated by Radcliff, State Farm launched an insurance-fraud investigation into Radcliff and his company. Radcliff was arrested on fourteen felony counts, but the charges were eventually dismissed pursuant to a diversion agreement with the State. State Farm then sued Radcliff and CPM for fraud and racketeering; Radcliff and his company counterclaimed for, among other things, defamation.
Following a nearly six-week-long jury trial before the Honorable Steven Nation in which over forty witnesses testified, a jury returned a $14.5 million verdict in favor of Radcliff and his company on their defamation counterclaim. This is one of the largest defamation verdicts in United States history. State Farm now appeals arguing that (1) it is entitled to judgment on Radcliff’s defamation counterclaim pursuant to two defenses: the public interest privilege for crime reporting and statutory immunity; (2) Radcliff failed to prove actual malice by clear and convincing evidence; and (3) it is entitled to a new trial on damages. Utilizing our standard of review for judgments on the evidence, we conclude looking to the evidence most favorable to Radcliff that State Farm is not entitled to judgment on either of the defenses. Also, utilizing a heightened standard of review for defamation cases, after an independent review of the record, we uphold the jury’s verdict that Radcliff proved actual malice by clear and convincing evidence and conclude that State Farm is not entitled to a new trial on damages. We therefore affirm the trial court.
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Affirmed.
BARNES, J., and CRONE, J., concur.