Complaint Review: Nationwide Auto Insurance

DETAILS:

Melton vs. Fortier (86CA4482)

In October 1984 my car was rear-ended while I was at the end of a line of stopped cars by an uninsured military motorist, Air Force Sergeant XXXX Fortier, who was assigned to Ft. Meade. The force of the impact was such that it damaged the two cars ahead of me as well, which were driven by Mary Hilton and Charles Moniuszco, who served as witnesses to the accident. At the scene of the accident Sergeant Fortier admitted to the investigating officer and others that he was indeed driving uninsured. According to the investigating officer the sergeant claimed a large phantom vehicle had made him crash into me. All three victims/witnesses refuted his claim at the scene, swearing that there had been no such vehicle in the area at the time of the crash. The sergeant had simply come down the hill behind me far too fast and not paying attention to the road ahead. My car was towed away and later pronounced totaled. I was taken to the hospital to check out the increasing neck and back pain I was having.

After a year of ceaseless severe pain and fruitless physical therapy under orthopedic surgeon Dr. Ritchie at the Columbia Medical Plan, my doctor pronounced my injury chronic (permanent). I then in turn approached the law firm of Ahlstrom and Davis in Columbia to file suit against Sergeant Fortier. The suit was filed for $100,000 - a sum I was told was usual and customary for permanent back injuries. Mr. Davis began the task of tracking Sgt. Fortier since he had been assigned overseas in the meantime. In early 1986 I sought a second medical opinion with orthopedic surgeons, Drapkin, Launder & McGovern in Laurel. They concurred and elaborated that I had a permanent partial disability of the neck and back. The sergeant was located in San Vito, Italy. The lawsuit Melton vs. Fortier (86CA4482) was filed in Howard County on my behalf by Ahlstrom and Davis, who assigned the case to Dorothy Della Noce another lawyer in their firm.

As per my agreement with my insurer, Nationwide, Mrs. Della Noce notified Nationwide that I had filed suit against the uninsured motorist. As my lawyer began the discovery process of the suit (asking and answering pertinent questions through correspondence), she began receiving two distinctly different sets of answers from two different attorneys claiming to represent Sgt. Fortier. Mrs. Della Noce wrote the lawyers asking that it be decided who actually represented Sgt. Fortier. The first lawyer was Norman Stone from Dundalk, whom Sgt. Fortier had actually hired. The second law firm, Montedonico, Hamilton & Altman, in Rockville had been hired by Nationwide to interfere in and sabotage the suit. The lawyers from their firm who were interjecting themselves in the proceedings were first, Patricia Goldberg and then David O. Godwin. At this point apparently Nationwide made Sgt. Fortier a deal he couldn't refuse - his lawyer was fired and he let Nationwide take over his defense for free. [Nationwide's intentions were to keep the suit from ever going to trial by any means possible in order to deny me my uninsured motorist coverage to pay mounting medical expenses. Nationwide knew the sergeant's position was impossible to defend but if they could delay or prevent the trial, then I couldn't get a judgment against the sergeant, and in that case they felt they could ignore their contractual obligations to me. And Sgt Fortier was more than willing to help obstruct justice and help Nationwide defraud me out of proper coverage to save himself from the consequences of his negligence and illegal conduct. ]

Trial day threats; perjurious stay requests granted:

Mr. Godwin settled into a strategy to repeatedly use and abuse the Soldier & Sailor Act to frivolously postpone the trial for years claiming the sergeant's military duty prevented his attending trial. Sgt. Fortier knowingly and willingly complied with this scheme. Time after time Godwin filed for stays of trial claiming the sergeant was unable to arrange leave from his duties overseas to come back for trial. Finally, a trial date was ordered for February 1988. On the day of the trial, at the courthouse, Mr. Godwin approached my lawyer and myself with the threat that if I did not sign papers releasing Nationwide from all but a token amount of my uninsured motorist coverage then Godwin would file for yet another stay of trial under the Soldier & Sailor Act that very day and what is more, he would continue to use the Soldier & Sailor Act to postpone trial for as long as the then young sergeant was in the Air Force. If we agreed to Nationwide's terms however, Godwin said he could produce the sergeant for trial. My lawyer and I refused to be blackmailed. Mr. Godwin then filed for and got yet another stay of trial from a Howard County fool of a judge based solely on his word that the sergeant was suddenly unavailable for trial that day. I informed my lawyer that I had just seen the sergeant in the area (specifically at a local Federal facility in an elevator) and knew the stay request was based on a blatant lie. (The facility was notified of the situation but refused to share records that showed the sergeant used his unique badge and pin to enter and leave its premises on the court date in question.) Despite this and the fact that Godwin had no proper military documents to back his claim (the sergeant merely told his commander that the trial was postponed thereby hiding the deceit involved in his real actions) the trial was postponed until April 1988 when the exact same scenario repeated itself. After Godwin had gotten yet another stay on the very day of the trial he bragged and taunted my lawyer and myself that if indeed the clueless court ever caught on and ever actually demanded Sergeant Fortier appear for trial that he had instructed the sergeant on how to switch his funds around and just declare bankruptcy and use his military status to minimize the consequences of that action. My lawyer, Mrs. Della Noce then prepared and filed a paper detailing and protesting the improper and unethical behavior of Fortier's (really Nationwide's) counsel. This of course was ignored by the apathetic/corrupt Howard County court.

Melton vs. Nationwide (88CA8215); Fraud and Breach of Contract

Frustrated by the Howard County Court's repeated utter disregard for the rights of the victim and the proper procedures needed to file for a limited number of reasonable stays, my lawyer Mrs. Della Noce had the case Melton vs. Fortier placed on military docket to suspend the usual statute of limitations and protect my legal rights. She then prepared and filed suit against Nationwide in 1988. The suit Melton vs. Nationwide (88CA8215) accused Nationwide of fraud and breach of contract based on their improper interference in a suit in which they were not named, for the specific purpose of defrauding a client. The ruling in Webb vs. Nationwide (1980), was cited by my side wherein a Maryland judge ruled that an insurance company has neither the right nor the obligation to hire legal defense for an uninsured motorist who hits their insured. Nationwide argued that they had hired defense counsel for the uninsured sergeant who hit me and had then refused to honor my uninsured motorist contract for two reasons:
1) - that despite examinations by multiple doctors (- including their own Dr. Vienar in Laurel) in which all concurred that I had been permanently injured , Nationwide, contrary to all medical evidence, simply preferred to claim that I was not injured, and
2) - that despite the fact that all witnesses disputed the existence of any phantom vehicle as claimed by the uninsured sergeant, and that even if there had been one, an unidentified motorist still fits the criteria for defining an uninsured motorist since his insurance carrier cannot be discerned , Nationwide preferred to claim that a non-existent vehicle caused the accident and therefore it did not have to honor its contract with me for uninsured motorist coverage.

Settlement of Melton vs. Nationwide:

In a conference called before trial by judge Nissel in his chambers in 1989, the judge informed the second counsel Nationwide had hired to fight me, James Buchanan with the law firm of Sasscer, Clagett & Bucher (Upper Marlboro) that Nationwide was indeed obviously in breach of contract with their client and unarguably guilty of fraud. He ordered Nationwide to not waste his court time frivolously fighting this case and to immediately release $18,000 of my uninsured motorist coverage to me, telling my lawyer that the $2,000 difference between that and my $20,000 limit was a bone being thrown to the big dog .
The Melton vs. Nationwide lawsuit had sought punitive damages in the customary sum of three times the amount of the money in dispute, but apparently insurance companies have "influenced" (read bribe) the Maryland Legislature to make them immune from punitive damages (or even punishment) for their illegal and unethical practices. [This of course makes it good business practice to attempt to cheat as many clients as possible with frivolous legal shenanigans since all that the insurance company can lose is the original amount contractually owed.]
Within a few weeks after judge Nissel's declaration in the pretrial conference in his chambers of Nationwide's indisputable guilt, I signed settlement papers with Nationwide for the Melton vs. Nationwide suit. Before signing I demanded the concession that an addendum be added by my lawyer to the papers stating that I in no way released Sgt. XXXX Fortier from my separate suit (Melton vs. Fortier) against him, or his sole responsibility for the car accident which injured me. Nationwide agreed to those terms. [Unknown to me at the time, David O. Godwin then quit as Fortier's defense counsel since Nationwide was no longer paying him, adding a document to the suit folder which deceitfully portrayed him as being hired by Fortier instead of my own back-stabbing insurance company, Nationwide, to cover his real role. Sgt. Fortier later claimed Godwin had dishonestly informed him that it was the Melton vs. Fortier suit which had been settled so he was off the hook. It had not.]

Nationwide vs. Fortier:

It is interesting to note that during the time Nationwide was defending the supposed innocence of the uninsured motorist who had hit me, Nationwide hired yet a third lawyer from a third law firm, Jane L. Jenkjns with Preller & Preller in Towson, to sue Sgt. Fortier to recover the money paid me (grudgingly and not without a four month fight) for my totaled car. They based this suit on what they claimed was Sgt. Fortier's lone guilt for the accident. Ms. Jenkins called me and demanded I honor my contract with Nationwide and provide testimony against Mr. Fortier for the suit being prepared against him by Nationwide. I referred her to my lawyer who informed her it was Nationwide who was dealing in bad faith with me not the other way around. Under those circumstances the suit was dropped.

Back injury; further treatment:

In 1992 and 1993 with my back condition further deteriorating, I underwent 15 months of intensive physical therapy at the Washington Pain Management Center in Greenbelt, Md. The medical bills amounted to more than $50,000 but luckily most of the expense was covered by my HMO, though they did try to collect from me later and had a hard time believing I had not gotten my case to trial and won since it was such an obvious case of evil vs good.


New Counselors; resumption of lawsuit:

In 1993 I also wrote a letter of protest to the Howard County Court detailing the fate of the Melton vs. Fortier suit and I demanded to know why the case had been so blatantly botched by the judges involved in the face of such obvious criminal behavior on the part of the defendant and his counsel. I demanded to know if I should blame it on the general dishonesty or the gross incompetence of Howard County judges since there was certainly no third explanation. This roused a response from a judge who sent letters ordering the appearance of both parties to the suit and their counsels in his chambers. (By that time Sgt. Fortier had been stationed at Ft. Meade several years - and presently works for the Feds as a civilian. Apparently there is no federal or state requirement or mechanism to make sure a court is notified that the stay obtained in a suit under the Soldier's & Sailor's Relief Act is no longer appropriate, or else it was ignored). Sgt. Fortier hired Ronald Landsman to represent him and I hired Michael Marr of Baltimore who was also an ex-Air Force judge. (My former lawyer Mrs. Della Noce had moved out of the area and Ahlstrom and Davis had quit the suit since they felt it's viability had been irreparably damaged by excessive passage of time due to Nationwide's unethical, illegal, and rabid interference. They also felt that the uninsured military motorist could easily continue to hide behind his military status, whether it was for the purpose of continuing to evade trial or simply evading payment from any future trial and ensuing judgment against him.) In judge's chambers Mr. Fortier's counsel admitted that Sgt. Fortier had indeed gotten leave and had come back to the immediate area for both trial dates in 1988 but had agreed to not appear at the courthouse until his counsel Mr. Godwin contacted him (i.e., if the perjurious stay request worked - he would return to Italy unseen by the opposing side or court personnel, if it didn't - he would appear in court as ordered). The judge declared the suit Melton vs. Fortier valid and with merit and allowed its resumption.

Stewart vs. Fortier (94CA24337); Fortier vs. Nationwide

In light of my new medical bills, and the proven severity and longevity of my back problems, my new counsel upped the demand of the suit to $500,000. The suit was reissued under my married name, Stewart. Fortier's new counsel proceeded to file suit against Nationwide to obtain a judgment against them and their complicity in the matter. The attempt failed and after Fortier lost the suit because the jury found his claim that he was victimized by Nation to be nonsense and decided he had been well-aware of the illegality of his actions and a wholly willing participant in insurance fraud and obstruction of justice. He then filed for bankruptcy in May 1995 in order to avoid going to trial in the case of Stewart vs. Fortier. Despite the fact I had not gotten him to court yet, this declaration of bankruptcy under Maryland law basically dismissed all claims past, present, or future against his past misdeeds. Again the Maryland courts protected the rights of the criminal over those of his victim. Sgt. Fortier has now left the military and works at Ft. Meade as a civilian for the Federal government. Despite the Fed's supposed high standards, Mr. Fortier passed inspection for civilian employment because he had not "technically" been convicted of any wrongdoing, despite admitting to it.

I wish to emphasize the fact that the insurance industry coerces government, legal, and medical professionals in order to perpetrate this fraud. When their own doctor examined me and reported that I had indeed been permanently injured, Nationwide threatened to put him out of business if he dared testify to that. (This is what Dr. Vienar reported to my lawyer when she asked him to testify). I have spent years trying to get this entire practice needs to be stopped, and the companies and there needs to be a mechanism by which guilty employees need to be held legally responsible for the misuse of their power, as do the Maryland government officials who blatantly and shamelessly betray the public trust for private "favors". I even got legislator Shane Pendergrass to allow me to tell my story before the legislative committee overseeing insurance matters. They concluded that this fraud cost Maryland tax-payers well over a million dollars (mid-1990's dollars) a year since many people cheated out of coverage had to get help from the state for medical expenses, lost wages, etc. But when it came time to change the law to stop this fraud, the insurance lobby swept in and "donated money" to everyone's campaign fund who was on that committee, and the proposed legislation was so watered down as to drown as an impotent joke.

As of today, November 3, 2008, my injury is still a problem and has changed my life forever not for the better. After yet another round of letters to Nationwide and Maryland authorities this year to give them a chance to let new blood rectify that of the sorry the scoundrels before them, I find that there is merely a new set of despicable scoundrels making excuses for doing nothing. One imbecile Maryland official had the nerve this summer to sign a blow-off letter to me with "wish your heath improves soon"!! After 26 years of pain and suffering because of not only the accident but the unforgivable, sub-human depravity of Maryland state officials as a whole, apparently, this imbecile throws out this outrageous empty platitude instead of "stepping up" like a man, like a leader. Just goes to show that Maryland government thinks leadership, as in the sacred duty to protect and serve fellow citizens, is spelled "p-a-r-a-s-i-t-e".

So if any of you think "this" is "Blue Ribbon Claims Service" - then you deserve to have Nationwide (Nation's worst) Insurance.

Jaguarundi
Annapolis Junction, Maryland
U.S.A.