Missoula Logging Company Awaits Lawsuit Payment From Bank

MISSOULA, Mont. (AP) — First Interstate Bank and its insurer are suing each other over who gets to pay a defunct Missoula logging company its $24.5 million verdict upheld by a state judge in April.

The Missoulian reports (http://bit.ly/1c2mqu4) Kelly Logging Inc. went out of business after its bank seized stimulus money from its checking account to repay a loan that was not in default. The company sued First Interstate Bank, and a jury awarded a verdict and punitive fees of nearly $17 million.

First Interstate appealed and lost, with Missoula District Judge Ed McLean tacking on $7.5 million for attorney's fees. The bank then sued its insurer for the entire $24.5 million when Columbia Casualty refused to pay.

Columbia Casualty's countersuit says First Interstate Bank's policy doesn't cover "deliberate fraudulent" acts.