Merlin Law Group is closely monitoring a case pending before the South Carolina Supreme Court to see how it answers the question: “Does South Carolina law support application of the ‘at issue’ exception to the attorney-client privilege such that a party may waive the privilege by denying liability in its answer?”… Continue Reading
In 2017, the Arizona Supreme Court changed the scope and limits of discovery to “any non-privileged matter that is relevant to any party’ claim or defense and proportional to the needs of the case.”1 Starting in July 2018, Arizona Rule of Civil Procedure 26.2, will take effect. Rule 26.2 has been significantly changed, adopting a … Continue Reading
Whether an insured can access an insurer’s claim file has often been addressed by Florida courts. Recently, a Florida appellate court followed other courts’ rulings in holding that an insured cannot obtain its insurer’s claim file.… Continue Reading
Insurance companies hate producing its claims guidelines, loss ratios, and other relevant documents in bad faith litigation. Recently, a Nebraska federal trial court denied Owners Insurance Company’s request to bifurcate my client’s bad faith claim from its breach of contract claim. This ruling prevents unnecessary costs and delay and will allow the insured its day … Continue Reading
Many policyholders think that insurance company adjusters get an individual bonus on each claim for paying less than a certain amount. They distrust the insurance company adjuster and often creatively claim more, fearing that the property insurance adjuster will wrongfully reduce the eventual settlement. The truth is that collectively, many insurance companies pay bonus incentives … Continue Reading
Late yesterday evening, December 10, 2014, Chief Judge Jerome B. Simandle of the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey sent a letter to several law firms handling Superstorm Sandy claims, Merlin Law Group included, concerning the potentially widespread issue of “Revised” engineering reports.… Continue Reading
If you have been following Hurricane Sandy news, you may already be aware of Judge Brown’s recent November 7th order in Raimey v. Wright National Flood Insurance Company,1 in the Eastern District of New York (EDNY) which requires defendants in all Hurricane Sandy cases to provide plaintiffs by December 12th:2 [C]opies of all reports described in … Continue Reading
Disputed insurance claims are often resolved in the appraisal process. The process is generally less time consuming and less expensive than full blown litigation and, if done properly, can resolve the majority of discrepancies between the policyholder’s estimate and the position of the insurance carrier.… Continue Reading
Regardless of whether you’re the plaintiff or defendant in an insurance dispute, fabricating or otherwise altering evidence can have some very serious consequences. Earlier this summer, the Sixth District Texas Court of Appeals issued a memorandum opinion involving two of the most severe sanctions parties can face under Texas law for such misconduct – monetary … Continue Reading
I have published on four occasions concerning good orders coming out of the Barten v. State Farm case.1 Well, it seems more courts are issuing favorable discovery orders, including a recent ruling from a federal district court in Arkansas.2… Continue Reading
In part 5 my series on Proving and Winning a First Party Bad Faith Case, I posted the interrogatories I recently served on the insurer’s attorney on a case I am handling in federal court in the Western District of Missouri. The interrogatories will provide me with information regarding how the policyholder’s claim was handled … Continue Reading
Earlier this week, I had to travel over 3,500 miles round trip to Minneapolis to take issue with a health insurance company suing my Florida policyholder client in Minnesota federal court in an effort to gain an unwarranted strategic and economic advantage. During my several years of insurance policyholder representation, the well-reasoned rule of thumb … Continue Reading
In part 4 my series on Proving and Winning a First Party Bad Faith Case I posted the Request for Admissions I recently served on the insurer’s attorney on a case in federal court in the Western District of Missouri. Along with the Request for Admissions I filed the following Interrogatories on the Defendant, United … Continue Reading
In part 3 my series on Proving and Winning a First Party Bad Faith Case, I posted a Request for Production of Documents I recently served upon the insurer’s attorney on a case I am handling in federal court in the Western District of Missouri. In that case the insurer’s attorney requested information from my … Continue Reading
Last week I blogged about how the recent Willis v. Swain case ruling out of Hawaii, may impact and shape future cases as we move forward full-steam into 2014. Looking back at the past year, it’s also important to mention a ruling from a Washington state court that will be helpful to insureds in efforts … Continue Reading
In this part of my series on Proving and Winning a First Party Bad Faith Case in Colorado, I am going to disclose the Request for Production of Documents I recently served upon the insurer’s attorney on a case I am handling in federal court in the Western District of Missouri. I am sharing this … Continue Reading
I have previously blogged about the decisions coming out of the United States District Court of Arizona in the Barten v. State Farm case. Recall, my Barten blogs have largely concerned State Farm’s corporate profit augmentation programs, whether the programs are called ACE or something else. Well, good orders just keep coming out of the … Continue Reading
I have twice blogged about court orders coming out of the United States District of Arizona Court’s Barten v. State Farm case. Well, time to talk about another great Barten decision hot off the press. By order dated January 31, 2014,1 United States District Judge Cindy Jorgenson upheld the spirit of Federal Rule of Civil … Continue Reading
On October 4, 2013, I wrote about a Florida state court judge levying severe sanctions against an insurance company and its attorney for allegedly playing fast and loose with the rules of discovery. This blog is aimed at keeping readers up-to-date.… Continue Reading
As an attorney, I love information, and I enjoy getting my hands on an adjuster’s claim notes; I am privy to the initial reserve, internal thoughts, and other pertinent information that reveals the carrier’s position on my client’s file. On the contrary, I am often sitting in a deposition of a public adjuster where their … Continue Reading
Unless someone has a specific discovery topic they would like me to blog about, this will be my last post in this series. My prospective posts will be on issues related to Merlin Law Group’s disability, life, health, and long-term healthcare insurance practice.… Continue Reading
It is not breaking news that many insurance companies monetarily reward their claims department personnel for lowering claim payouts. Thankfully, most courts understand that this is an unacceptable business practice; so, it is not necessarily rare for courts to allow policyholders to discover information pertaining to bonus or incentive plans that insurance companies have in … Continue Reading
This blog is an extension of my September 27th and October 18th posts. The decision that is the focus of today’s blog is brief and not-so-recent, but one of the holdings toward the end of the opinion is very well put and worth noting.… Continue Reading
This blog is an extension of my September 27, 2013, blog. The focus of my earlier blog was a Florida federal court decision, whereas the focus of this blog is a Florida state court decision. The topic is whether or not certain aspects of a carrier’s claim file can be discovered during the contractual dispute. … Continue Reading
