Lucy and the Tsar
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Lucy served as second officer on a 747 operated by Trans-Oceanic Airlines. Twice a week she flew from Dallas to Leningrad; with brief layovers in New York and Brussels. She had been a second officer for five years. Lucy was looking forward to promotion to first officer. She would be the second woman to command a 747 for Trans-Oceanic.
Her performance reviews were always exceptional. Never had Trans-Oceanic Airlines treated her differently than any other pilot. The glass ceiling seemed nonexistent.
Lucy, as a highly paid professional airline pilot, owned a beautiful 5000 square foot home in Dallas where she lived with her son, daughter and a full- time housekeeper/nanny. She was happy. Her future was unlimited. At forty years of age she was approaching the apex of her professional career.
Her layover in Leningrad was usually two days. Lucy would recover from the inevitable jet lag by visiting the great museums of the time of the Tsars. Her favorite was the Hermitage, which was once the Tsar’s summer palace.
To the museum she always brought along her Nikon single lens reflex camera that recorded each picture with very high resolution. She used the Nikon to photograph the magnificent treasures stolen by the Bolsheviks from the Tsar. The fast lens and digital enhancement allowed her to obtain images without using a flash. Lucy would spend evenings in her hotel sorting her photographs into categories on her lap top.
She had collections of close-up shots of Faberge royal Easter eggs; of oil paintings by Gaugin, Degas, Van Gogh and Picasso; and photos of fine works of art made by native Russian craftsmen unknown in the West.
Lucy converted the settlement check to US currency Travelers Checks. She placed the Travelers Checks in her overnight bag on the airplane. When she landed, as part of a well-known airline crew, her luggage was not inspected by the local customs officials. The Travelers Checks, better than cash, entered the new Russia without hindrance. Lucy immediately went to the dealer appointed by the Hermitage and purchased the Fabergé bird she lusted for paying only 200,000 US Dollars in Travelers checks.
With the remaining $50,00 she purchased two Fabergé silver cigarette cases and a small Picasso drawing in pencil signed and dated by the artist. The bird is displayed prominently over Lucy’s mantelpiece and she used the Fabergé cigarette case to hold note papers and a fountain pen.
Lucy was lucky. If anyone at Edward Lloyd’s Insurance Company had gone to the Dallas public library, they could have found similar photographs of the same items in any one of several books on the Hermitage collection housed at the library. They did not.
Lucy was promoted to Captain. She now commands a Trans-Oceanic 747 that flies three times a week nonstop from Dallas to London’s Heathrow airport.
She is starting a collection of photographs from the Queen’s Museum at Buckingham Palace.
ZALMA OPINION
It is time for the insurance industry to invest in a team of insurance claims professionals who know how to investigate a claim, interpret an insurance policy, and deal with a false and fraudulent claim to keep people like Lucy for enjoying a life of successful crime.
(c) 2022 Barry Zalma & ClaimSchool, Inc.
Barry Zalma, Esq., CFE, now limits his practice to service as an insurance consultant specializing in insurance coverage, insurance claims handling, insurance bad faith and insurance fraud almost equally for insurers and policyholders. He practiced law in California for more than 44 years as an insurance coverage and claims handling lawyer and more than 54 years in the insurance business. He is available at http://www.zalma.com and [email protected].
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Arsonist Tried To Represent Himself, Failed, and Sought Habeas Relief
Post number 5357
Read the full article at https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/he-who-acts-his-own-lawyer-has-idiot-client-barry-zalma-esq-cfe-d4bwc, See the full video at and at and at https://zalma.com/blog.
Karacson’s Arson for Profit Attempt Required Skill & Experience to Succeed
In Steve Ellis Karacson v. David Shaver, Warden, No. 25-1089, United States Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit (May 20, 2026) Steve Karacson was convicted in Michigan state court of arson and insurance fraud after evidence showed he burned his own insured home. Investigators found multiple points of origin, gasoline odor, and evidence tying him to the scene, including cell-phone location data and a receipt showing he had purchased a gas can and gloves shortly before the fire.
FACTS
Karacson initially had appointed counsel, but his relationships with both appointed attorneys ...
Foolish to Repeatedly Disobey Court Orders
All That Remains For Trial Is Plaintiff’s Damages On Each Of These Claims And Establishing Proximate Causation Of Those Damages.
Post number 5348
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In Linh Wang v. Esurance Insurance Company, No. C24-0447-JCC, United States District Court, W.D. Washington, Seattle (May 1, 2026) John C. Coughenour, United States District Judge, found that throughout this case, culminating with its briefing on Plaintiff’s renewed motion and that Defendant has subjected Plaintiff to unnecessary motion practice for clearly discoverable information and made dubious representations (including to the Court).
FACTUAL BACKGROUND
This case involves an underinsured/uninsured motorist insurance bad faith claim arising from a 2017 motor vehicle collision. The plaintiff, Linh Wang, alleges that Esurance Insurance ...
The Right to Negotiate with Insurer is Not an Assignment of Claims
Post number 5347
Read the full article at https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/ambiguous-contract-repair-assignment-barry-zalma-esq-cfe-2xppc, see the full video at https://rumble.com/v79is1s-ambiguous-contract-to-repair-not-an-assignment.html and at and at https://zalma.com/blog plus more than 5300 posts.
Nebraska Requires an Actual Assignment to Allow Contractor to Sue Insurer
In Millard Gutter Company, a corporation doing business as Millard Roofing and Gutter v. Farmers Mutual Insurance Company of Nebraska, also known as Farmers Mutual Insurance, also known as Farmers Mutual, No. A-24-818, Court of Appeals of Nebraska (May 5, 2026) Millard sued Farmers as an assignee of Jane Anzalone who had hired Millard Gutter to repair the roof of her home and agreed to allow Millard Gutter to coordinate with her insurer, Farmers Mutual, concerning reimbursement for repairs authorized under her insurance policy.
FACTUAL BACKGROUND
In ...
Qui Tam Case Without Evidence to Prove Fraud Fails
Post number 5369
Read the full article at https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/qui-tam-insurer-contended-defrauded-barry-zalma-esq-cfe-pgfgc and at https://zalma.com/blog plus more than 5550 posts.
In People Of The State Of California Ex Rel. Heath & Yuen, APC v. Silver Bird Auto Leasing, LLC et al., B342847, California Court of Appeals, Second District, Eighth Division (June 5, 2026) Heath & Yuen, APC defended parties in an automobile collision case involving a McLaren and a tour van. After that case settled for $25,000, the firm filed a qui tam action under California’s Insurance Frauds Prevention Act (IFPA) against Silver Bird Auto Leasing, LLC, X-Law Group, PC, and Filippo Marchino. The firm alleged three fraudulent acts in the underlying litigation:
1. the complaint falsely stated the McLaren was making a “legal turn,”
2. respondents produced a fraudulent repair bill/estimate, and
3. respondents failed to disclose Marchino’s GEICO insurance and its payment for repairs....
Full Faith and Credit Act Controlled
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Posted on June 9, 2026 by Barry Zalma
Post number 5368
Posted on June 9, 2026 by Barry Zalma
In Prime Insurance Company, Inc. v. Medicab Transportation, LLC, Jason Rhodes, and Dale Johnson v. Prime Insurance Company, Inc and Prime Property & Casualty Insurance, Inc. No. 2:24-cv-421-SPC-KRH, United States District Court, M.D. Florida, Fort Myers Division (June 3, 2026) Medicab, a paratransit company, bought two policies in 2021: a Business Auto Policy from PPCI and a Commercial Liability Policy from Prime. Both policies, as originally written, appeared to cover injuries arising from loading and unloading patients from Medicab vans.
After a patient, Margaret St. Aubin, fell while being unloaded from a van and suffered injuries, her Estate made a $1 million demand. Prime and its claims administrator concluded that the Commercial Policy’s loading/unloading language had been included by mutual mistake, because...
Full Faith and Credit Act Controlled
Read the full article at https://lnkd.in/evHXiiFE and at https://zalma.com/blog.
Posted on June 9, 2026 by Barry Zalma
Post number 5368
Posted on June 9, 2026 by Barry Zalma
In Prime Insurance Company, Inc. v. Medicab Transportation, LLC, Jason Rhodes, and Dale Johnson v. Prime Insurance Company, Inc and Prime Property & Casualty Insurance, Inc. No. 2:24-cv-421-SPC-KRH, United States District Court, M.D. Florida, Fort Myers Division (June 3, 2026) Medicab, a paratransit company, bought two policies in 2021: a Business Auto Policy from PPCI and a Commercial Liability Policy from Prime. Both policies, as originally written, appeared to cover injuries arising from loading and unloading patients from Medicab vans.
After a patient, Margaret St. Aubin, fell while being unloaded from a van and suffered injuries, her Estate made a $1 million demand. Prime and its claims administrator concluded that the Commercial Policy’s loading/unloading language had been included by mutual mistake, because...
