Jury awards $36 million to Valencia County family in 2017 fatal crash

A Santa Fe jury awarded $36 million to a Valencia County family that filed a lawsuit against an insurance company following a 2017 fatal head-on collision that took the life of a Rio Communities woman and injured her 4-year-old nephew.

Jurors found that the woman killed in the collision had purchased a $1 million State Farm insurance policy less than a week before the crash and awarded the family $12 million in damages and an additional $24 million in bad faith and breach-of-contract damages, court records show.

The $36 million award includes a $20 million punitive damage award against State Farm Automobile Insurance, according to the verdict form.

Phone messages left last week for State Farm’s attorney, Todd Schwarz, were not immediately returned.

The Sept. 2, 2017, two-car collision on N.M. 47 in Valencia County killed Andrea Lovato, 30, and caused serious injuries to her nephew, who was riding in the back seat, according to the complaint.

The 1st Judicial District Court verdict rendered on Oct. 31 is one of the largest “bad faith” awards against an insurance company made by a New Mexico jury, said Shane Maier, an attorney for Lovato’s family.

“We understand that it’s the second-highest bad faith verdict in our state’s history,” Maier said.

The 2020 lawsuit said that Lovato was driving a 2017 Nissan north on U.S. 47 when it collided with a car traveling southbound in Lovato’s lane of traffic, the lawsuit contends.

The oncoming vehicle was driving 70 mph in a 35 mph zone, Maier said. An accident reconstruction of the crash shows that both drivers “mirrored each other” by veering into the southbound lane moments before the impact, resulting in a head-on collision, he said.

The suit includes no information about the condition of Anita Nieto, the other driver involved in the crash. Messages left for Nieto’s attorney, Kristin Groman, were not returned last week.

Lovato’s 4-year-old nephew, Christopher Chavez, remained in the wreckage until he was extricated by emergency responders, Maier said.

“He has a scar across his stomach from having to undergo emergency surgery where they had to open up his abdominal cavity to stop internal bleeding,” he said of the boy. “He’s very scared of being in cars now, understandably.”

The $36 million judgment also includes a $6 million damage award to the boy as a result of the crash, according to the verdict.

Just five days before the collision, Lovato contacted a State Farm agent and upgraded her insurance coverage from $25,000 to $1 million, Maier said.

After Lovato’s death, State Farm alleged that her $25,000 policy limit remained in force, he said. State Farm also alleged that Lovato was entirely at fault for the collision.

Lovato’s mother later found the declaration page of the upgraded $1 million insurance policy that had been mailed to Lovato’s home, Maier said.

Jurors specified in their verdict that State Farm’s contract provided $1 million in coverage for Lovato’s vehicle, not $25,000 coverage claimed by the company, the verdict form shows. Jurors also found that each driver shared 50% responsibility for the collision, it said.