AAA Insurance faces $21.5M bad faith verdict in Clay County

Summary

• A Clay County jury awarded Audrey Allinder $21.5 million in a bad faith claim against AAA Insurance.
• The verdict included $1 million in compensatory damages and $20.5 million in punitive damages.
• The claim stemmed from AAA’s handling of a policy-limits settlement opportunity after a 2021 Arkansas rollover crash.
• AAA paid the underlying judgment plus interest before trial but continued to deny responsibility for harms claimed by Allinder.

A $21.5 million verdict was reached for the plaintiff in a bad faith claim against AAA Insurance.

The suit was reached June 12 in Clay County Circuit Court, with Judge Timothy Flook presiding over the jury trial which began June 8. Of the suit, $1 million was for compensatory damages and $20.5 million was for punitive damages. All 12 jurors signed both the underlying verdict and punitive verdict.

The suit goes back to July 4, 2021, in Eureka Springs, Arkansas. The plaintiff, Audrey Allinder, 17, was involved in a roll-over accident as the driver. The plaintiff’s good friend, Courtney Paulick, was a passenger who suffered a serious traumatic brain injury.

Allinder alleges that Paulick was forced to file suit when Allinder’s insurer, AAA, failed to settle the claim for the $25,000 policy limits and failed to seek a release of liability to protect from potential excess judgment. Counsel for AAA alleged that the insurance company did make numerous offers to settle for the policy limits and obtain a release of Allinder.

The suit also claimed AAA failed to provide a timely defense, in contravention of the insurance policy, which resulted in a default judgment being entered against Allinder. After a bench trial for the damages, a $6.04 million judgment was entered against her.

Several years later, one week before the Clay County jury trial, AAA paid the full amount of the underlying judgment plus interest to Paulick, which by then was in excess of $7 million. However, the defendant continued to deny any allegations of bad faith.

The plaintiff was represented by co-lead counsel Wes Shumate of Davis, Bethune, & Jones in Kansas City, and Brette Hart of Harris & Hart in Overland Park, Kansas, along with Matt Greenberg, also with Harris & Hart, and Kevin Buchanan, also with Davis, Bethune, & Jones.

The defendant was represented by lead attorney Michael McCausland of McCausland, Barrett & Bartalos in Kansas City, as well as Daphne Halderman and Jordan Bergus, also with McCausland, Barrett & Bartalos.

The plaintiff expert in insurance was Ray McLaughlin of RPM Consultants out of Hendersonville, Tennessee.

The defense expert in insurance was Steven Plitt of The Cavanaugh Law Firm in Phoenix.

There was a pretrial demand of $2.3 million, which was withdrawn before trial following jury selection. There was pretrial offer of $250,000.

“I know Miss Allinder is happy to know that she was heard, and that a verdict like this, because it was a punitive verdict against the insurance company, can affect some change that will help other people, so they don’t have to go through this,” Shumate said.

McCausland said AAA, “plans to appeal a number of issues.”

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Insurance

Amount of verdict: $21.5 million

Type of action: Other – Insurance

Venue: Clay County Circuit Court

Case Number/Date: 22CY-CV11510/June 12, 2026

Judge: Timothy Flook

Plaintiffs’ Expert(s): Ray McLaughlin, insurance, RPM Consultants, Hendersonville, Tennessee

Defendants’ Expert(s): Steven Plitt, insurance, The Cavanaugh Law Firm, Phoenix

Injuries: Financial Harm, Emotional Distress, Psychological

Last Pretrial Demand: $2.3 million

Last Pretrial Offer: $250,000

Insurer: Auto Club Inter-Insurance Exchange

Caption: Audrey Allinder v. Auto Club Inter-Insurance Exchange (AAA)

Plaintiffs’ Attorneys: Wes Shumate, Davis, Bethune, & Jones, Kansas City; Brette Hart, Harris & Hart, Overland Park, Kansas; Matt Greenberg, Harris & Hart, Overland Park, Kansas; Kevin Buchanan, Davis, Bethune, & Jones, Kansas City

Defendants’ Attorneys: Michael McCausland, McCausland, Barrett & Bartalos, Kansas City; Daphne Halderman, McCausland, Barrett & Bartalos, Kansas City; Jordan Bergus, McCausland, Barrett & Bartalos, Kansas City