Barry Zalma | Zalma on Insurance It is Contumacious to Sue an Insurer Who Fulfills all Promises Made by its Policy An insurance contract is nothing more than mutual promises made by the insurer to the insured and from the insured to the insurer. When an insurer keeps all of the promises it made, settles… Continue reading When an Insurer Fulfills its Promises There Can Never be “Bad Faith”
Category: Bad Faith
Court of Appeal Holds Only “Named Insureds” May Sue for Bad Faith Under California FAIR Plan Policy
Valerie A. Moore and Kathleen E.M. Moriarty | Haight Brown & Bonesteel In Wexler v. California Fair Plan Association (No. 303100, filed 4/14/21), Brooke Wexler’s parents insured their residence, which was located in a mountainous high-fire risk area, with a California FAIR Plan Association owner-occupied dwelling policy. The policy only listed Wexler’s parents and did not name… Continue reading Court of Appeal Holds Only “Named Insureds” May Sue for Bad Faith Under California FAIR Plan Policy
Can a Settlement Demand Above Policy Limits Fall within Limits? A Calif. Appellate Court Says Yes
Michael Melendez and Rebeka Shapiro | Cozen O’Connor California law generally requires that an insurer reject a reasonable settlement demand within the policy limits before it can be liable for a bad faith failure to settle. See Samson v. Transamerica Ins. Co., 30 Cal.3d 220, 237 (1981). But a recent California Court of Appeal (4th Dist.)… Continue reading Can a Settlement Demand Above Policy Limits Fall within Limits? A Calif. Appellate Court Says Yes
“Specific” Means “Specific” – Florida’s Bad Faith Statute Must Be Strictly Construed
Jeffrey Michael Cohen | PropertyCasualtyFocus The purpose of Florida’s “bad faith” statute is to “avoid unnecessary bad faith litigation.” To that end, the statute provides a civil remedy for any person damaged by an insurer’s conduct. However, as a condition precedent to filing suit, the policyholder must provide appropriate information to the Department of Insurance and the… Continue reading “Specific” Means “Specific” – Florida’s Bad Faith Statute Must Be Strictly Construed
An Insurer Is Not Subject to Strict Liability for the Failure to Accept a Reasonable Settlement
Kathryn Ashton | Clyde & Co. In March 2021, an appellate court decision clarified what the law has always been in California; that to find an insurer liable for bad faith, the insured (or its assignee or a judgment creditor) must plead and prove the insurer acted unreasonably or without proper cause. California’s standardized jury… Continue reading An Insurer Is Not Subject to Strict Liability for the Failure to Accept a Reasonable Settlement