Erie Insurance Exchange v. Christine Cosme

── Erie Insurance Exchange v. Christine Cosme ── Court: Indiana Court of Appeals Date: May 14, 2026 Author: Melissa May Category: General FILED May 14 2026, 9:01 am CLERK Indiana Supreme Court Court of Appeals and Tax Court IN THE Court of Appeals of Indiana Erie Insurance Exchange, Appellant/Cross-Appellee-Defendant v. Christine Cosme and Roy Cosme, Appellees/Cross-Appellants-Plaintiffs May 14, 2026 Court of Appeals Case No. 25A-CT-1439 Appeal from the Lake Superior Court The Honorable Bruce D. Parent, Judge Trial Court Cause No. 45D11-1803-CT-00039 Opinion by Judge Felix Judges May and Mathias concur. Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 25A-CT-1439 | May 14, 2026 Page 1 of 35  Felix, Judge. Statement of the Case [1] Approximately seven years after Christine and Roy Cosme (collectively, the “Cosmes”) were injured in a rear-end collision caused by an uninsured driver, their automobile insurer Erie Insurance Exchange (“Erie”) was held liable by a jury for refusing in bad faith to pay the Cosmes’ wreck-related insurance claim. The jury awarded the Cosmes $8,125,407.61 for the uninsured driver’s negligence, Erie’s breach of the insurance policy, and Erie’s bad faith. The trial court reduced this award to $3,625,407.61. Erie now appeals the jury’s verdict and the Cosmes cross-appeal, collectively raising the following three issues for our review: 1. Whether the trial court erred by denying Erie’s motion for partial summary judgment; 2. Whether the trial court abused its discretion by admitting certain evidence at trial; and 3. Whether the trial court erred by reducing the awarded damages. [2] We affirm in part, reverse in part, and remand with instructions. Facts and Procedural History [3] In August 2016, the Cosmes purchased an automobile insurance policy for their family from Erie (the “Policy”) through Churilla Insurance. The Cosmes included their son Broyce Cosme on the Policy as a driver. [4] In February 2017, Hobart Police Department Officer Kevin Garber pulled over a vehicle in which 19-year-old Broyce was a passenger. Broyce and his friends Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 25A-CT-1439 | May 14, 2026 Page 2 of 35  were arrested for possessing marijuana. Garber listed Broyce as the driver in the incident report. In late March or early April, Broyce received a letter from the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles (the “BMV”) “stating that [his] license was suspended because [he] failed to show proof of insurance” as the driver of the vehicle. Tr. Vol. III at 29. Broyce contacted both the BMV and Garber to sort out the mistake. Garber confirmed that Broyce was not the driver and assured Broyce that he “would fix it.” Id. at 30. Garber did not fix it. [5] On August 27, Erie automatically renewed the Policy. Although Erie’s internal guidelines recommended an agent and an underwriter re-underwrite an insurance policy 120 days prior to renewal, that appears to not have happened for the Policy.