Jury awards $61 million in case against Progressive

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Auto insurer Progressive Corp. (PGR.N: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Wednesday that a jury had awarded $61 million to plaintiffs who sued its Progressive Casualty subsidiary in a civil rights case.

Progressive said in a federal filing it will appeal the February 22 verdict in the U.S. District Court in Oklahoma City, to either overturn it or have the damages reduced.

The Mayfield Village, Ohio-based insurer also said in the filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that maximum damages in such civil rights case were capped at $300,000, excluding certain factors.

Progressive spokeswoman Leslie Kolleda said the case had been filed under the U.S. Civil Rights Act of 1964, which limited compensatory and punitive damages, excluding pay and attorney's fees. Those have yet to be decided by the court, she said.

Kolleda declined to comment on the case beyond what was in the Progressive filing.

Progressive said it didn't believe that any liability in the case would materially affect its financial condition.