The Region - News from April 17, 1986

After winning a jury verdict awarding them the unpaid $400,000 benefit due on the death of Beach Boys drummer Dennis Wilson, the widow and 3-year-old son of the musician have agreed to settle their multimillion-dollar case against the insurance company and end a second, or “bad-faith,” phase of the trial. Terms of the agreement between Transamerica Occidental Life Insurance Co. and the family were not disclosed, the file was sealed and the parties agreed not to talk to the media. The insurance company had refused to pay the benefit after Wilson drowned in December, 1983, contending that he lied on his application about use of drugs and alcohol. A Los Angeles Superior Court jury decided the benefit was due. Shawn Love Wilson, 21, and her son, Gage, had sued for the benefit, plus $500,000 in general damages and $20 million in punitive damages.