In Lock v. American Family Insurance Co., 460 P.3d 683 (Wash. App. Div. 1 2020) the Washington court found defending against the insured’s bad faith lawsuit was not a claim denial, nor was it bad faith. The underlying case involved UIM and PIP claims under American...
Bad Faith
ILLINOIS LAW REQUIRES A TWO-PRONG DETERMINATION IN BAD FAITH FAILURE TO SETTLE CASES
Recently the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals held, interpreting Illinois law, that to establish a bad faith failure to settle case under Illinois law, the claimant must prove both reasonable probability of liability and reasonable probability of damages in excess of the...
TOO LATE!
The Colorado Supreme Court in Schultz v. GEICO Casualty Co., 429 P.3d 844 (Colo. 2018) recently held that later-developed evidence was irrelevant to a UIM claim because the denial had taken place prior to the development of that evidence. In this case, the insured,...
Corroborating UIM Claims
Under South Carolina law, insureds can receive the benefit of uninsured motorist coverage for injuries that are caused by a phantom driver, provided that the insured can establish three conditions set forth in S.C. Code Anno. §38-77-170. One of the three conditions...
Settling into Bad Faith
Under Florida Insurance Code §624.155, in order to bring a bad faith action there must be a favorable determination of liability against the insurer as a prerequisite to maintaining a bad faith action. In Barton v. Capitol Preferred Ins. Co., Inc., 208 So. 3d 239...
Oregon Court Finds That Insurer Bad Faith Is Not Elder Abuse
The Oregon Supreme Court, answering a certified question by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, held that bad faith delay or denial of payment of an insurance claim did not state a claim under Oregon's Financial Elder Abuse Statute. In Bates v. Bankers Life and Casualty...
Refining Florida’s Bad Faith Law
In order to bring a bad faith claim in Florida, the following three elements need to be established: (1) the insurer's liability for coverage needs to be determined; (2) the extent of the insured's damages needs to be determined; and (3) it must be established that...
Covenant Judgment Settlements In Washington Do Not Automatically Constitute A Waiver Of Attorney-Client Privilege And Work Product Protection When The Insured’s Claims For Bad Faith Against The Insurer Are Assigned To The Adverse Party
In Steel v. Philadelphia Indemnity Co., 381 P.3d 111 (2016), a daycare center employee was convicted of child rape and child molestation while working at a daycare center. The parents brought a negligence action against the center. The daycare center had $1 million in...
Timely Offering Policy Limits Does Not Immunize Insurer From Bad Faith Exposure
The California Supreme Court in Barickman v. Mercury Casualty Co., 2 Cal. App. 5th 508 (2nd Dist. 2016) held that the insurance carrier was liable for bad faith failure to settle, notwithstanding the fact that the carrier offered its policy limits to the claimants in...
California Court of Appeals Fixes Punitive Damage Ratio and Bad Faith Cases
Historically the United States Supreme Court has admonished trial courts with the high court's observation that "few awards exceeding a single-digit ratio between punitive and compensatory damages, to a significant degree, will satisfy due process." State Farm Mut...
