View this article online: https://www.claimsjournal.com/news/east/2011/08/10/189360.htm
A federal judge has dismissed a police widow’s lawsuit against a suburban Philadelphia township over its insurance coverage.
Middletown Township Officer Chris Jones was killed by an intoxicated driver during a 2009 traffic stop. Driver Frank Budka is serving a 4-1/2 to 17-year prison term.
Suzanne Jones’ suit says the township lowered its underinsured motorist coverage from $1 million to $35,000 without informing her 37-year-old husband, a father of three. She was seeking more than $450,000.
But the Bucks County Courier Times reports that a judge found he had no constitutional right to the coverage. Family lawyer Charles Leone may refile the complaint in state court.
Suzanne Jones has received a $130,000 life insurance policy, and will get her husband’s $75,000 salary and family medical benefits unless she remarries.