Latest Publications

Share:

Washington: Third-Party Administrators and Adjusters Can Be Liable in Bad Faith Actions

On April 11, 2017, the Division III Washington Court of Appeals, on a 2 to 1 vote, held that third party administrators and adjusters can be liable in bad faith actions under multiple legal theories. Merriman v. Am. Guar. &...more

Washington Court Rejects Bad Faith Coverage by Estoppel Because Insured Was Insulated from Liability

This week, the Division I Washington Court of Appeals granted partial relief to an insurer and held that if an insured is legally insulated from any exposure to a tort victim, the presumption of harm in a bad faith claim...more

Washington Supreme Court: Corporate Attorney’s Communications with Former Employees Not Privileged

The Supreme Court of Washington recently held that the attorney-client privilege does not protect a corporation’s attorney’s communications with former employees of the corporation, even if the communications concern events...more

Oregon Adopts Covenants Not To Execute/Assignments

This past week, the Supreme Court of Oregon overturned 42 years of precedent, holding that Stubblefield v. St. Paul Fire & Marine, 267 Ore. 397, 517 P.2d 262 (1973) erred when it decided that a covenant not to execute given...more

Court Escalates a $4 million Covenant Judgment to a $20 million Bad Faith Judgment

Last week, the Washington Court of Appeals held that “in an insurance bad faith case, the amount of a reasonable covenant judgment sets a floor, not a ceiling, on the damages the jury may award.” Miller v. Safeco Ins. Co.,...more

Washington Bars Insurers from Maintaining Legal Malpractice Suit Against Policyholder Defense Counsel

In Stewart Title Guar. Co. v. Sterling Savings Bank, et al., Wash. No. 87087-0 (October 3, 2013), the Washington Supreme Court held that a nonclient insurer may not pursue a malpractice claim against appointed defense counsel...more

Washington’s Counties Face Potential Liability for Citizen’s Drunken, Reckless Driving

In a case widely reported by the national media, the Washington State Supreme Court recently ruled that a governmental entity may face liability for faulty road design that leads to injuries in car crashes, even when the...more

Washington Supreme Court: Insurers May Not Reserve the Right to Seek Reimbursement of Non-covered Defense Costs

The Washington Supreme Court joined a minority of jurisdictions that hold that insurers may not unilaterally reserve the right to seek reimbursement for defense costs paid in defending non-covered claims through a reservation...more

Washington Court: Firearms Exclusion Excludes Coverage for Pre-Shooting Negligence and Shooting Claims

In Capitol Specialty Insurance v. JBC Entertainment Holdings, Inc., et al., No. 68129-0-I, 2012 Wash. App. LEXIS 2835 (Ct. App. Dec. 10, 2012), the Washington Court of Appeals held a firearms exclusion in a commercial general...more

Collectibility in Legal Malpractice Suits – A Required Element in Proving Damages: Schmidt v. Coogan

In Schmidt v. Coogan, No. 41279-9-II, 2012 WL 5331567 (October 30, 2012), the Washington Court of Appeals held that (1) collectibility is a required component in determining legal malpractice damages and (2) the failure to...more

11/13/2012  /  Attorney Malpractice , Damages
10 Results
 / 
View per page
Page: of 1

"My best business intelligence, in one easy email…"

Your first step to building a free, personalized, morning email brief covering pertinent authors and topics on JD Supra:
*By using the service, you signify your acceptance of JD Supra's Privacy Policy.
- hide
- hide