One of the most powerful weapons an insurance company can use to defeat a bad faith claim is the “genuine dispute” doctrine. Under this doctrine, as long as there was a genuine dispute regarding coverage or the amount owed,...more
Under the "genuine dispute" doctrine, an insurer is not liable for bad faith if its denial of a claim was reasonable. In Ghazarian v. Magellan Health, Inc., 53 Cal. App. 5th 171 (2020), a California appellate court reversed a...more
In Shah v. Metropolitan Life Ins. Co., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 25695 (S.D. Ohio Feb. 19, 2019), the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio dismissed a plaintiff insured's bad faith and punitive damages claims...more
Federal Circuit Summary - Before Frost, Newman, and Lawrie. Appeal from the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. Summary: A weak showing of secondary considerations is insufficient to create a genuine...more
An insurance carrier has declined to defend a claim asserted against its insured, arguably without meeting its obligation to investigate the claim. For whatever reason — a change in personnel, loss of a file, or some other...more