The Holding -
In Preciado v.Young American Insurnace Company, 2017 WL 2805631 ( Ariz.App . June 29, 2017) (unpublished), the Arizona Court of Appeals held the trial court erroneously failed to grant an Insurer’s motion for...more
11/1/2017
/ Abuse of Discretion ,
Appeals ,
Attorney's Fees ,
Auto Insurance ,
Bad Faith ,
Breach of Contract ,
Insurance Litigation ,
Motion for JMOL ,
Prevailing Party ,
Property Theft ,
Property Valuation ,
Punitive Damages ,
Reaffirmation ,
Reversal ,
Reversible Error
The Holding -
In Robert W. Baird & Co. Inc., v. The Honorable Christopher Whitten, 2017 WL 4296583 (Ariz. App. Sep. 28, 2017) (774 Ariz. Adv. Rep.4), the Arizona Court of Appeals just held that a legal malpractice...more
The Takeaways
- Bad faith defense counsel should caution their bad faith experts not to speculate that an insurer’s claim decisions were based on advice of counsel.
- The Hunton case continues the trend of Arizona...more
A “Morris Agreement” is a “settlement agreement entered into when the insurer is defending under a reservation of rights under which the insured stipulates to a judgment, assigns his rights against the insurer to the...more
In Double AA Builders, Ltd. v. Preferred Contractors Insurance Company, LLC, --- P.3d ----, 2016 WL 7508079, *1 (Ariz. Ct. App. Dec. 30, 2016), the Arizona Court of Appeals reversed the trial court’s grant of summary...more
In State Farm v. Lee, 199 Ariz. 52, 13 P.3d 1169 (2000) (En Banc), the Arizona Supreme Court first held that an Insurer can impliedly waive the attorney-client privilege (the “Privilege”) in a bad faith case, despite not...more
Because Arizona cases touching on this issue are copious, confusing, and complex, we note the following guidelines—though sometimes conflicting—have emerged from Lee and its progeny and will assist an Insurer’s analysis of...more
Although Arizona law regarding the implied waiver of the attorney-client privilege (the “Privilege”) is far from certain, an Insurer may avoid a waiver by following these tips...more
In Sobieski v. Am. Standard Ins. Co. of Wisconsin, 2016 WL 5436588 (Ariz.App. Sept. 29, 2016), despite upholding a bad faith judgment for an insurer conducting an unreasonable investigation and denying a claim, the Arizona...more
10/21/2016
/ Appeals ,
Arbitration ,
Auto Insurance ,
Bad Faith ,
Breach of Contract ,
Business Profits ,
Comparative Negligence ,
Denial of Insurance Coverage ,
Insurance Adjusters ,
Insurance Litigation ,
Judgment As A Matter Of Law ,
Jury Verdicts ,
Motion for Judgment ,
Motorcycle Accidents ,
Punitive Damages ,
Reversal ,
Uninsured and Under-Insured Motorists
In Arellano v. Primerica Life Insurance Company, 235 Ariz. 371, 332 P.3d 597 (App. 2014), despite finding an insurer’s conduct moderately to highly reprehensible, the Arizona Court of Appeals recently reduced a punitive...more
5/27/2015
/ Appeals ,
Bad Faith ,
Breach of Contract ,
Compensatory Damages ,
Due Process ,
Forgery ,
Fraud ,
Insurance Litigation ,
Life Insurance ,
Misrepresentation ,
Professional Negligence ,
Punitive Damages
In Quihuis v. State Farm, --- Ariz. ---, 334 P.3d 719 (Ariz. Oct. 1, 2014), the Arizona Supreme Court recently held that a stipulated fact in a Damron Agreement that is both an element of liability and essential to...more
If the Beaver owned a classic 1959 Ford Fairlane, he would not have been insured for UIM benefits under the Cleaver family auto policy. In Beaver v. American Family Mutual Insurance Company, 234 Ariz. 584, 324 P.3d 870 (App....more
In Newman v. Cornerstone National Insurance Company, 2014 WL 1257129 (Ariz.App. Mar. 27, 2014), the Arizona Court of Appeals held that a valid offer of underinsured motorist (“UIM”) coverage need not include premium prices...more
The test for first-party bad faith in Arizona case law is whether, during the “investigation, evaluation, and processing of the claim, the insurer acted unreasonably and either knew or was conscious of the fact that its...more
In Melendez v. Hallmark Insurance Company, 232 Ariz. 327, 305 P.3d 392 (June 11, 2013), the Arizona Court of Appeals held a UM/UIM selection/rejection form is not a valid “offer” under Arizona’s Uninsured Motorist Act, which...more
In Mendota Insurance Company v. Gallegos, 232 Ariz. 126, 302 P.3d 651, 657 (2013), the Arizona Court of Appeals recently held a named insured's younger brother was a resident of his brother's household and therefore entitled...more
The Arizona Court of Appeals recently held that the duty of good faith and fair dealing includes "some obligation" to inform a policyholder about the extent of coverage and rights under an insurance policy....more
The Arizona Court of Appeals recently upheld a trial court's reduction of a $55 million punitive damages award to only $620,000 and further reduced the punitive damages to $155,000-a 1:1 ratio to compensatory damages....more
11/15/2012