You couldn't make this up!

BEST LAWYER/INSURANCE STORY OF THE  YEAR, 

DECADE, AND POSSIBLY THE  CENTURY.

This took  place in Charlotte North Carolina A lawyer purchased a box of  very rare and expensive cigars, then insured them against, among  other things, fire.

Within a month, having  smoked his entire stockpile of these great cigars, the lawyer  filed a claim against the insurance  company.

In his claim,  the lawyer stated the cigars were lost 'in a series of small  fires' ..... The insurance company refused to pay, citing the  obvious reason, that the man had consumed the cigars in the  normal fashion.

The lawyer sued and  WON! ( Stay  with me. )

Delivering  the ruling, the judge agreed with the insurance company that the  claim was frivolous. The judge stated nevertheless, that the  lawyer held a policy from the company, in which it had warranted  that the cigars were insurable and also guaranteed that it would  insure them against fire, without defining what is considered to  be unacceptable 'fire' and was obligated to pay the  claim.

Rather than endure lengthy and  costly appeal process, the insurance company accepted the ruling  and paid $15,000 to the lawyer for his loss of the cigars that  perished in the 'fires'.

NOW  FOR  THE BEST PART...

After the lawyer  cashed the check, the insurance company had him arrested on 24  counts of ARSON!!!

With his own insurance  claim and testimony from the previous case being used against  him, the lawyer was convicted of intentionally burning his  insured property and was sentenced to 24 months in jail and a  $24,000 fine.

This true story won First Place in last year's  Criminal Lawyers Award contest.

ONLY  IN  AMERICA ... NO WONDER THE REST OF THE WORLD THINKS  THEY'RE NUTS..