According to both the appellant and the appellee, the Texas Supreme Court already decided this issue. Each, of course, finds a different answer. Cause No., 14-0721, USAA Texas Lloyds Co. v. Gail Menchaca, in the Texas Supreme Court, arises from …

Texas Supreme Court to Decide Whether a Policyholder Can Recover Damages When The Carrier Does Not Breach the Policy Read more »

The court’s decision in Axis Specialty Insurance Company v. New Hampshire Insurance Company highlights the scope of recovery available for an excess carrier seeking to recover against a primary carrier. Emboldened by the recent Missouri Supreme Court decision recognizing the right …

Missouri Federal Court Identifies Roadblocks For An Excess Carriers’ Claim For Attorney Fees Against Primary Carrier Read more »

Earlier this month, a Massachusetts Appellate Court affirmed a trial court’s award of bad faith damages in a case where it found the insurer’s approach to a claim to be “at best inattentive, if not incompetent.”  Although the state appellate …

Expanding When Liability is “Reasonably Clear”: Massachusetts Court Chips Away at Bad Faith Counterarguments Read more »

A low-ball settlement offer on its own is not enough to state a claim for a bad faith according to a federal district court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania which granted the insurer’s motion to dismiss the insured’s claim …

“Low-Ball” Settlement Offer On Its Own Is Insufficient To Support A Claim for Bad Faith Under Pennsylvania Law Read more »

On July 27, 2016, the United States District Court for South Carolina ordered an insurer to turn over its privileged communications. The Court explained that the insurer waived the protections afforded under the attorney-client privilege and work product doctrine by …

Insurers’ Beware: Defending Bad Faith Claim May Lead to Waiver of Privileged Communications Read more »

In a recent unpublished decision, the California Court of Appeals upheld a $3 million judgment against an auto liability insurer that rejected proposed language in a settlement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 …

When a Policy Limits Offer is Not Enough: A Cautionary Tale of a Failure to Settle Case Read more »

It is highly unusual to find an insurance bad faith case which stems from an insurance company’s subrogation recovery. On July 6th, Wisconsin’s highest court had such a case, reversing the appellate court and holding that Dairyland Insurance Company’s subrogation …

Subrogation recovery did not violate the made-whole-rule and was not in bad faith per Wisconsin Sup. Ct. Read more »

This month, the Eastern District of Pennsylvania issued an opinion that reminds insurance carriers and their counsel that it is often beneficial to remove certain cases to federal court. While federal court offers many advantages in insurance litigation, the recent …

The Advantages of Removal: Twombly and Iqbal Applied to Bad Faith Claims Read more »