While it is well known that an insured has a clear and convincing standard of proving bad faith in order to recover such damages, it is lesser recognized that an insured does not have to prove outrageous conduct or evil...more
On August 25, 2020, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court split 3-3, with one Justice recused, on an appeal from a trial court’s insurance bad faith decision imposing $18 million in punitive damages and $3 million in attorney’s fees...more
Welcome to CICR’s annual review of insurance cases. Here, we spotlight five (actually, seven) decisions from the last year that you should know about, and five pending cases—all before state high courts—to keep an eye on. The...more
How does an insured prove that an insurer acted in bad faith? Although the issue has been well settled since the Superior Court decided Terletsky v. Prudential Property & Casualty Insurance Co. in 1994, there has been much...more
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has, for the first time in the 37-year history of Pennsylvania’s bad faith insurance statute, 42 Pa.C.S. § 8371, considered the necessary elements of such a claim, and it has determined that...more
In its recent decision in Rancosky v. Washington National Insurance Company, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court examined, for the first time, Pennsylvania’s standard for insurance bad faith. The court held that, while an...more
For the first time, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, the highest court in the state, enunciated the elements of a bad faith insurance claim brought pursuant to Pennsylvania’s bad faith statute, 42 Pa.C.S. § 8371. The decision...more
In an opinion dated September 28, 2017, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, Western District, considered as an issue of first impression the level of proof required to prevail in a bad faith claim, examining the elements of a bad...more
In a much anticipated decision, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court cemented and clarified the test for bad faith set out in the 1994 Superior Court decision Terletsky v. Prudential—that an insurer’s bad faith is established by...more
Policyholders asserting an insurance bad faith claim need not show a dishonest purpose or motive of self-interest or ill will to prove their claim against insurers under Pennsylvania’s insurance bad faith statute, 42 Pa....more
This summer, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania addressed an important question that has divided other courts: if an insurer defends a claim subject to a reservation of rights, may the insured settle the claim without the...more
Kennedy v. Allstate, No. 15-2221 (E.D. Pa. July 8, 2015). District Court recognizes possibility that insurance adjusters owe a duty of care to insureds that would be breached by failing to conduct a reasonable...more
Eighth Circuit: No Bad Faith Where Insured Failed to Make a Sufficient Demand and Insurer Refused to Entertain Settlement Offer Prior to Completing Investigation - Purscell v. Tico Ins. Co., No. 13-2362, 2015 WL 3855253...more