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DATE & TIME
Tuesday, October 15, 2024 | 1:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. EDT
This CLE course will guide counsel in responding to time-limited demands for payment of the policy limits without drawing a claim for bad faith. The panel will discuss controlling law and statutes, requests that do and do not trigger insurer obligations, safe harbors that may excuse a response, and strategies for summary judgment should a bad faith claim be filed.
Description:
A time-limited policy limits demand to a defendant's insurer is a frequent tool used by plaintiff's lawyers in an attempt to force crucial decisions on limited information and with very little time to decide. Bad faith liability can arise from the improper rejection or non-payment of a time-limited demand, often without showing intentional wrongdoing or motive.
What constitutes a valid demand that triggers the obligation to respond and what constitutes a proper response has generated a broad body of case law. Statutory or judge-made "safe harbors" may allow a range of responses, but these rules can be narrowly construed and easily misinterpreted.
If a bad faith claim is filed, the reasonableness standards that apply in a time-limited demand situation make summary judgment challenging but by no means impossible, as demonstrated by recent decisions in key jurisdictions.
Listen as this experienced panel of insurance attorneys guides counsel through responding to time-limited demands and offers a roadmap to summary judgment if a bad faith case is filed.
Speakers:
- Scott F. Bertschi, Partner, Clyde & Co US
- Rachel E. Hudgins, Attorney, Hunton Andrews Kurth
- Jay M. Levin, Shareholder, Flaster Greenberg
Outline:
- Essential elements of a policy-limits, time-limited demand
- Standards for evaluation of time-limited demands
- Statutory
- Common law
- Covered vs. uncovered claims
- Safe harbors
- Roadmap to summary judgment if bad faith alleged
Benefits:
The panel will review these and other pivotal issues:
- Who can make a time-limited demand, and is client consent required?
- Does the insurer have a duty to settle or a duty to make reasonable settlement decisions?
- Must the demand include any particular information?
- What is the importance of releases, indemnification, and lien treatment offered or omitted from a demand?
- Can the insurer consider coverage defenses or questionable liability when responding?
