In bad faith cases, juries must often decide if the way an insurer processed a claim lacked a "reasonable" basis. Courts have consistently held that experts can help—by explaining how a claim is supposed to be handled. The same courts also insist, however, that experts may not "tell the jury what result to reach." Three recent cases from an assortment of federal courts enforced that rule by excluding expert opinions. But the real lesson of these cases might be that ... Keep Reading »
Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist
Bad Timing Dooms Bad Faith Claim
A recent decision by a New Jersey Appellate Court clarifies both the scope of a New Jersey insurer’s duty of good faith in resolving a first-party uninsured motorist claim and the way in which claims for breach of that duty must be raised. The plaintiff in Wadeer v. New Jersey Manufacturers Ins. Co., A-3206-10T4 (N.J. Super. Ct. App. Div., Dec. 13, 2012), was severely injured when a “phantom vehicle” swerved into his lane and made him lose control of his car. He was ... Keep Reading »
A Porous Border: Insurers Finding it Hard to Exclude Coverage for Additional Insureds
Landlords and tenants, contractors and sub-contractors, even fathers and sons often establish relationships that make one party potentially liable for the acts of the other. One way to manage the risk these relationships create is for one party to add the other to its liability insurance policy as an additional insured. On the other side, insurers try to limit their exposure to additional insureds by defining coverage in a way that applies only to risks the additional ... Keep Reading »