ACCC_Articles_11thCircuitReversesInsurersBadFaithWin_Law360_20230315.pdfExtracontractual and Bad Faith Claims Litigation CommitteeMission Statement 2022-2023 Co-Chairs Selected Presentations & Papers: FIFTH CIRCUIT REVERSES EXLCUSION OF INSURED’S EXPERT BASED ON DISTRICT COURT’S FAILURE TO EXPLAIN BASIS FOR EXCLUSION. The district court’s order lacks any analysis of either the importance to the case of the new data in the expert’s Second Report or the potential prejudice to Lloyd’s of allowing the late disclosures, beyond the court’s bald statement that the “delay to seemingly surprise [Lloyd’s] . . . [was] not harmless.” And the district court did not address the possibility of a continuance to cure any prejudice. Because the district court failed adequately to explain its reasoning, “the order must be vacated and remanded to allow the district court to explain its decision after considering the proper factors.” Read more. Posted 3/20/2023 Florida Cuts P&C Claims Deadlines by Half Dramatic changes to claims administration for Florida property and casualty insurance carriers took effect on March 1, 2023, cutting claim response times in half for both personal and commercial lines. Gov. Ron DeSantis signed Senate bill 2-A (SB 2-A) into law on December 16, 2022, which arose from the Florida legislature's second special legislative session of 2022, addressing the deterioration of the state's P&C insurance marketplace. The bill enacts many significant revisions to claim-governing sections 627.70131 and 627.70132 of the Florida Statutes. Read more.
11th Circ. Orders USAA's $5M Bad-Faith Fight To Trial A USAA unit must face claims that its alleged bad-faith conduct caused its policyholder to suffer a $5 million excess judgment in a trial over a serious car accident, the Eleventh Circuit said Tuesday, reversing and remanding the insurer's early win against the injured driver. Read more.
New Jersey Federal Court Allows Bad Faith Failure to Settle Suit to Proceed Based on Claims Committee Conduct The court’s decision, that bad faith could possibly be established [insurer’s MSJ was denied], was tied to two key issues – (1) the insurer not accepting its adjuster’s recommendation to settle and (2) the court taking issue with how the insurer’s claims committee went about its business of analyzing whether the claim should be settled. Read more. BrightView Enterprises Solutions v. Farm Family Cas. Ins. Co., No. 20-cv-7915 (D.N.J. Feb. 7, 2023)
Insured’s Failure to Obtain Consent to Settlement Deemed Prejudicial The Western District of Pennsylvania granted an insurer’s motion to dismiss breach of contract and bad faith claims with prejudice after finding that an insured had no basis to sue its insurer for reimbursement of a settlement payment when the insured did not seek the insurer’s consent before entering into the settlement, pursuant to the terms of a business insurance policy. See RealogicHR, LLC v. Continental Cas. Co., 2022 WL 17904245 (W.D. Pa. Dec. 23, 2022).
Texas Court of Appeals Affirms Summary Judgment For Insurer After Homeowners Refuse to Cooperate in Appraisal Process and EUO Posted 1/30/2023 Western District of PA Finds No Bad Faith for Policy Interpretation Based on Unsettled Law The Western District of Pennsylvania recently granted an insurer’s motion for summary judgment and denied an insured’s motion for summary judgment after finding that the insurer did not act in bad faith when it requested that its insured submit to an IME at a time when the validity of the IME clause in the Policy was unsettled and the subject of debate in Pennsylvania. See Loughery v. Mid-Century Ins. Co., 2022 WL 17821613 (W.D. Pa. Dec. 20, 2022). Read more. Posted 1/12/2023 Missouri Supreme Court Reverses $5.2 Million Extracontractual Judgment Against Auto Insurer The Missouri Supreme Court vacated a $5.2 million judgment over a woman's claim that she contracted HPV during sexual encounters in a Geico policyholder's car, finding that the insurer wasn't given the opportunity to intervene in the lawsuit before judgment was entered. Read More.
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