Surely this cannot be true?
?
> This took place in Charlotte, North Carolina . A lawyer purchased a
> box of very rare and expensive cigars, then insured them against,
> among other things, fire.
> Within a month, having smoked his entire stockpile of these great
> cigars, the lawyer filed a claim against the insurance company.
> In his claim, the lawyer stated the cigars were lost 'in a series of
> small fires.'
> The insurance company refused to pay, citing the obvious reason, that
> the man had consumed the cigars in the normal fashion.
> The lawyer sued and WON! ( Stay with me.) Delivering the ruling, the
> judge agreed with the insurance company that the claim was frivolous.
> The judge stated nevertheless, that the lawyer held a policy from the
> company , in which it had warranted that the cigars were insurable and
> also guaranteed that it would insure them against fire, without
> defining what is considered to be unacceptable 'fire' and was
> obligated to pay the claim.
> Rather than endure lengthy and costly appeal process, the insurance
> company accepted the ruling and paid $15,000 to the lawyer for his
> loss of the cigars that perished in the 'fires'.
>
> ( Wait for it.....)
> After the lawyer cashed the check, the insurance company had him
> arrested on 24 counts of ARSON!!! With his own insurance claim and
> testimony from the previous case being used against him, the lawyer
> was convicted of intentionally burning his insured property and was
> sentenced to 24 months in jail and a $24,000 fine. This true story won
> First Place in last year's Criminal Lawyer's Award contest.
> ONLY IN AMERICA ....
>