In This Issue:

- Florida District Court of Appeal: A Prematurely Filed Bad Faith Claim Does Not Compel Dismissal

- Florida District Court of Appeal: Insurer’s Liability For Breach Of Contract Need Not Be Determined Before Bad Faith Claim Ripens

- Missouri Court of Appeals Rejects Insurers’ Appeal of Jury Verdict on Bad Faith Failure to Settle, but Remands for New Trial on Amount of Compensatory Damages and Liability for Punitive Damages

- Excerpt from Florida District Court of Appeal:

In 2011, Christine Beare (“Beare”) sued third party tortfeasors following an automobile accident. After the parties agreed to a settlement in October 2012, Beare was granted leave to amend her complaint to add her insurance carrier, Safeco Insurance Company of Illinois (“Safeco”). Beare’s amended complaint against Safeco included an uninsured/underinsured motorist (“UM”) claim and a bad faith count. Beare asserted that Safeco acted in bad faith by refusing to settle her claim. Safeco answered the UM claim and moved to dismiss the bad faith claim as premature. Safeco argued that Florida law requires dismissal of a first party bad faith claim filed prior to a determination of liability and damages under the insurance agreement between the insurer and insured. At Beare’s request, the trial court abated the bad faith claim instead of dismissing it.