A judge has issued a $3.1 million judgment against Wells Fargo for foreclosing on a Rio Rancho man's home even though his workplace accidental death was covered by an insurance policy that the bank sold him.
District Judge Beatrice Brickhouse's ruling says the bank's conduct was shocking and so reprehensible that she awarded $2.7 million in punitive damages to Christopher Dollen's estate.
Wells Fargo spokesman Jim Hines says the bank will appeal and disagrees with several parts of the ruling, including the award of punitive damages.
According to the Albuquerque Journal, the judgment also includes awards for $390,000 in fees by the law firm representing Dollen's estate, nearly $50,000 in court costs and $15,000 of damages under a New Mexico consumer protection law.
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