Expert Witnesses in Bad Faith and Coverage Litigation
Admitting and Excluding Opinion Testimony: Burden of Proof, Prohibited Subjects, Industry Standards, Scope
Recording of a 90-minute CLE video webinar with Q&A
This CLE webinar will discuss the unique challenges of using opinion experts in bad faith insurance litigation, the legal requirements for tendering expert testimony at trial, and objections to overcome.
Outline
- Overview of evidentiary rules on expert opinion testimony
- Typical insurance experts (underwriters, claims handlers, brokers, regulators, and attorneys)
- Opinions in coverage litigation (underwriting risks, duties under the policy, the ambiguity of policy language)
- Opinions in bad faith claims (standard of care in the industry, the reasonableness of claims adjuster's conduct)
- Objections to witness testimony and avoiding pitfalls in presenting expert opinions
Benefits
The panel will review these and other key issues:
- On what issues are experts not permitted to render opinions?
- What industry experts are best suited for bad faith claims, and what are typical challenges or objections to their testimony?
- What industry experts are best suited for insurance coverage claims, and what are frequent challenges or objections to their testimony?
- Under what circumstances would attorneys play a role in presenting expert witness opinions?
Faculty
Josh Franklin
Partner
Franklin Soto Leeds
Mr. Franklin is a business trial lawyer who has tried nearly fifty jury trials in his career. He handles cases... | Read More
Mr. Franklin is a business trial lawyer who has tried nearly fifty jury trials in his career. He handles cases throughout California and Colorado, focusing primarily on insurance coverage/bad faith litigation and business litigation. Mr. Franklin has represented mutual funds, software companies, biotech companies, contractors, developers, manufacturers, law firms, accounting firms, medical practices, small businesses, and individuals as both plaintiffs and defendants in a variety of high-stakes disputes. He represents businesses in disputes alleging breach of contract and business torts, including fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, and unfair competition. Mr. Franklin also handles civil actions alleging violations of various state and federal statutes, including California’s Unfair Competition Law (“UCL”), False Advertising Law (“FAL”), Consumer Legal Remedies Act (“CLRA”), and the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (“RICO”). Apart from his litigation practice, he completed mediation training at Pepperdine University’s Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution and occasionally serves as a mediator for commercial insurance coverage disputes. Mr. Franklin is currently a member of the Mediation Panel for the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.
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Guy O. Kornblum
Principal
Guy O. Kornblum
Mr. Kornblum has specialized as a trial and appellate lawyer for 45 years. He has handled over 3,500... | Read More
Mr. Kornblum has specialized as a trial and appellate lawyer for 45 years. He has handled over 3,500 litigated matters to conclusion and has several million dollar plus cases to his credit. Mr. Kornblum’s practice focuses on representing plaintiffs, claimants, policyholders and victims of tortious and contractual wrongs in insurance bad faith, among other claims.
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Bradley A. Levin
Shareholder
Levin Sitcoff Waneka
Mr. Levin focuses his practice on tort and commercial litigation, especially insurance bad... | Read More
Mr. Levin focuses his practice on tort and commercial litigation, especially insurance bad faith and insurance coverage disputes, representing corporate and individual policyholders alike. He argued the leading Colorado case concerning pre-judgment assignment agreements to the state supreme court. Mr. Levin lectures frequently on insurance law topics.
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