DIVISION I
John B. Robbins, Judge
AON RISK SERVICES
APPELLANT
V.
LINDA MICKLES
APPELLEE
CA 05-1397
NOVEMBER 1, 2006
APPEAL FROM THE PULASKI
COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT
[NO. CV98-6698]
HONORABLE CHRISTOPHER
PIAZZA, JUDGE
AFFIRMED AS MODIFIED ON
CONDITION OF REMITTITUR
JOHN B. ROBBINS, Judge
In 1996, appellant Aon Risk Services, as agent for Cincinnati Life Insurance Company
(CLIC), sold a policy to appellee Linda Mickles insuring the life of her son, Antonio
Robinson. When Antonio died later that year, appellee submitted a claim to CLIC for the
policy proceeds, which CLIC rejected due to an alleged misrepresentation in the application.
Appellee denied making the misrepresentation, and indeed later events showed that the words
constituting the misrepresentation had been placed on the application by someone other than
appellee. Appellee sued CLIC and Aon and obtained a jury verdict for bad faith and outrage
against CLIC and deceit and outrage against Aon; she was awarded $120,000 in
compensatory damages, apportioned fifty percent to each defendant, and $1 million in
punitive damages against CLIC and Aon individually. Aon and CLIC appealed, and in
Cincinnati Life Insurance Co. v. Mickles, 85 Ark. App. 188, 148 S.W.3d 768 (2004) (Mickles
Our supreme court denied Aon’s motion to certify and transfer this case.
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I), we affirmed the verdict against CLIC, while reversing and remanding the verdict against
Aon for a new trial. Thereafter, appellee accepted a satisfaction of judgment from CLIC for
$1,060,000, plus costs and interest.
In May 2005, a new trial was conducted on appellee’s outrage and deceit claims
against Aon. On this occasion, the jury found against appellee on her outrage claim but
awarded her $58,884 on her deceit claim, plus $2 million in punitive damages. Aon filed
post-trial motions, after which the deceit award was reduced to $29,942, but the punitive
verdict stood. Aon now appeals and raises the following arguments: 1) appellee’s claim for
deceit was not supported by substantial evidence; 2) appell