Bad Faith Litigation and Ignorance of the Law: Meeting an Insurer's Duty to Know the Law Without Losing Privileges
Recording of a 90-minute CLE video webinar with Q&A
This CLE webinar will discuss an insurance company's duty to know the law, the duty to explain denial of claims, what an adequate and proper claim denial looks like, how these duties affect the assertion of privilege, and how to stem erosion of evidentiary privileges in bad faith litigation.
Outline
- Claim adjuster's duties with respect to legal precepts
- Defensible claim denial letter
- Explanation of facts
- Explanation of law
- Role of coverage counsel in claims adjusting
- Erosion of evidentiary privileges in bad faith litigation
Benefits
The panel will review these and other pivotal issues:
- What constitutes "ignorance of the law"?
- Do non-lawyers writing claim denial letters that explain the law engage in the unauthorized practice of law?
- What does a complete and defensible claim denial letter look like?
- Are evidentiary privileges less likely to be upheld in bad faith cases?
- What types of deposition questions can imperil evidentiary privileges?
Faculty
Richard W. Boone, Jr.
Partner
Wilson Elser
Mr. Boone focuses his practice on a wide range of corporate, executive and professional liability matters as both... | Read More
Mr. Boone focuses his practice on a wide range of corporate, executive and professional liability matters as both coverage and defense counsel. He has appeared on behalf of insurers, entities and individuals before federal and state courts throughout the United States at both the trial and appellate levels. Mr. Boone also has extensive experience in resolving legal issues prior to litigation, which includes everything from monitoring sensitive and complex insurance coverage matters to representing clients in a variety of federal, state and internal investigations. He has also advised numerous established and startup companies regarding corporate governance matters and currently serves as a director or adviser on several corporate boards.
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Susan E. Dinneen
Founding Member
Strauss Massey Dinneen
Ms. Dinneen is an experienced litigator and advisor, defending her insurance company clients against fraud,... | Read More
Ms. Dinneen is an experienced litigator and advisor, defending her insurance company clients against fraud, extra-contractual/bad faith claims, catastrophe claims, and coverage disputes. She has obtained multiple zero verdicts for her clients in both bench and jury trials and has authored state and federal court appellate briefs that resulted in favorable rulings for the insurance industry. She represents large companies in affirmative actions and has partnered with insurers to coordinate institutional discovery in large-scale hurricane litigation. She also represents local businesses on intellectual property and other matters.
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Rukesh Korde
Partner
Covington & Burling
Mr. Korde has helped policyholders recover over $1 billion for first party, business interruption and contingent... | Read More
Mr. Korde has helped policyholders recover over $1 billion for first party, business interruption and contingent business interruption losses. Those losses include significant damages to skyscrapers, total supply chain failures, and business interruptions losses arising out of the inability to conduct interbank transactions. They also include cyber losses, such as computer security infrastructure failures, the loss of sensitive consumer and policyholder financial information, and contingent business interruption losses arising out of internet-related failures. Mr. Korde has resolved or litigated numerous cases involving insurance for hurricanes, floods, terrorist attacks, oil refinery explosions, disasters at chemical plants, supply chain failures, environmental damages, asbestos claims, MTBE claims, and natural resources damages. He has helped negotiate multi-million dollar payments under D&O policies as well payments for policyholders undergoing bankruptcy re-organization. Mr. Korde has worked with policyholders in the United States, in Europe, and in Asia. He has advised clients in nearly all sectors of the economy including air travel, back-end computer services, banking, chemical distillation, consumer products, financial services, hotels, manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, petroleum, and travel services.
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