In a recent unpublished decision, the California Court of Appeals upheld a $3 million judgment against an auto liability insurer that rejected proposed language in a settlement agreement, notwithstanding the insurer’s policy limits offer. Barickman v. Mercury Opinion, 2016 WL 3975279 (Cal. Ct. App. 2016) (unpublished). Although unpublished and not binding precedent, Barickman raises several claim handling issues which may be useful for carriers to consider. Barickman arises from a personal injury claim in which the insured, Timory McDaniel struck two pedestrians while driving under the influence. McDaniel fled the scene but was later apprehended. She reported the claim the following day to her insurer Mercury Casualty Company as an accident without further detail. Within eight weeks of receiving notice…
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Don’t Mess with the Texas Prompt Payment of Claims Act: One Court’s Appraisal Result
Virtually all property insurance policies contain an appraisal clause, which outlines the appraisal procedure in broad terms. Those broad terms sometimes do not provide much guidance about the process, or about the effect which an appraisal award may have. A case in point is Graber v. State Farm Lloyds, 2015 WL 11120532 (N.D. Tex. 8/6/15). In Graber, plaintiff purchased a homeowner’s policy from State Farm Lloyds. Plaintiff claimed that the home suffered covered damage as a result of a hailstorm. State Farm Lloyds inspected the home and concluded covered hail damage was present in certain areas of the home. On this basis, State Farm Lloyds issued a payment to plaintiff for damage to those itemized areas. Plaintiff was unsatisfied with…
