Ask the Experts About Bad Faith; Just Be Careful How You Do It
In bad faith cases, juries must often decide if the way an insurer processed a claim lacked a “reasonable” basis. Courts have consistently held that experts can help—by explaining how a claim is...
View ArticleEt tu, Buddy?: When Excess Insurers Sue for Bad Faith
Insurers don’t, as a rule, like bad faith suits. But life can play funny tricks—as when a judgment against an insured breaches a layer of excess coverage, because the primary carrier failed to settle...
View Article“At-Issue” Waiver: It Ain’t Over Till It’s Over
When a claim goes south, the insured often pursues a bad faith claim. But even when the bad faith claim settles, that doesn’t always mean the litigation is over. And that means it’s still necessary to...
View ArticleCooperate, Or Else
Cooperation is key. Or so says the 10th Circuit at least, in addressing an appeal from a district court’s dismissal of an insured’s action in which he failed to cooperate with his insurer’s claim...
View ArticleChange is in the Air: New Jersey Justices Hold Their Noses While Siding with...
On February 18, 2015, the Supreme Court of New Jersey issued separate opinions in two first-party, uninsured motorist cases against the same auto insurer. Plaintiffs in both cases alleged that the...
View ArticleGeorgia Supreme Court: Insurer Did Not “Unreasonably” Withhold Consent to Settle
In Piedmont Office Realty Trust v. XL Specialty Insurance Co., No. S15Q0418 (Ga. Apr. 20, 2015), the Georgia Supreme Court reiterated that, in the face of a policy provision prohibiting the insured...
View ArticleWords Have Consequences: Insurer Narrowly Avoids Disclosing the Privileged...
The charm of fishing is that it is the pursuit of what is elusive but attainable.” – John Buchan, His Excellency the Right Honorable Lord Tweedsmuir It’s not news that plaintiffs’ lawyers contrive...
View ArticleCourts Say There’s No Claim for “Reverse Bad Faith.” Could They Be Wrong?
Last month, in State Auto Property & Casualty Ins. Co. v. Hargis, No. 13-5020 (6th Cir. May 6, 2015), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit predicted that the Kentucky Supreme Court would...
View ArticleFlorida’s Immune System: No First-Party Bad Faith Claims Against The...
Earlier this month, in Citizens Property Insurance Corp. v. Perdido Sun Condominium Association, Inc., No. SC14-185 (Fla. May 14, 2015), the Supreme Court of Florida held that the immunity from suit...
View ArticleEleventh Circuit Affirms Summary Judgment for Insurer on Basis of “Other...
On June 22, 2015, the Eleventh Circuit affirmed the grant of summary judgment in favor of National Union Fire Insurance Company of Pittsburgh, Pa., in an action where the insured sought coverage under...
View ArticleFor “At-Issue Waiver,” The Best Defense May Not Be An Affirmative Defense
Silence is argument carried out by other means. –Ernesto “Che” Guevara As this blog has repeatedly documented, it can be hard for insurers to assert the attorney-client privilege in the context of bad...
View Article“‘Tis As Easy As Lying”: Pennsylvania Court Rescinds Policy of Corporate Giant
Claims, arguments and tactics that are familiar from coverage disputes with consumers are increasingly being used against carriers by large corporate insureds—often with the assistance of well-known...
View ArticleGrateful Marijuana Grower Scores Coverage Victory in Colorado Federal Court
The refusal of the Senate to fill a Supreme Court vacancy has put gridlock back on the front page, as it leaves important questions about immigration and clean energy unresolved. Uncertainty about...
View ArticleCalifornia Appellate Court Takes Equitable Subrogation to the Excess
In California, where a primary insurer is found to have unreasonably failed to settle within its policy limits, and a judgment is later entered against their insured in excess of those limits, the...
View ArticlePoint of Interest: Sixth Circuit Complicates Sureties’ Duty Of “Good Faith”
A hefty body of law declares that “suretyship is not insurance,” and so that sureties are not subject to claims for the tort of insurance bad faith. E.g., Upper Pottsgrove Township v. Internat’l...
View ArticleEleventh Circuit Clarifies “Permanency” Requirement under Florida Bad Faith...
In Cadle v. GEICO Ins. Co., Case No. 15-11283 (11th Cir. Sept. 30, 2016), the Eleventh Circuit held that GEICO had not acted in bad faith when it failed to settle a claim after the insured did not...
View ArticleThe Ghost of Systems Past: “Big Data” Suits Loom, But Old Data Issues Remain...
2017 could be big for litigation over “Big Data” applications in insurance. This past year saw the filing of several “price optimization” class actions, and claims against a fraud detection tool,...
View ArticleSecond Time Lucky: In Phantom Vehicle Cases, Ohio Insureds Can Now...
Hit-and-run drivers don’t always hit; some motorists recklessly cause accidents without making contact, then vanish from the scene. Victims in such cases can often obtain coverage under the uninsured...
View ArticleFlorida Appellate Court Rejects Jury’s Bad Faith Verdict
It feels like a black swan event: last month, in GEICO Gen. Ins. Co. v. Harvey, No. 4D15-2724 (Fla. Ct. App. Jan. 4, 2017), a Florida appellate panel unanimously overturned a jury verdict, on the...
View ArticleThird Circuit Affirms Rescission of $25 Million Contaminated Products Policy
In H.J. Heinz Co. v. Starr Surplus Lines Ins. Co., No. 16-1447 (3d Cir. Jan. 11, 2017), the Third Circuit affirmed a District Court’s order allowing insurer Starr Surplus Lines Insurance Company...
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