9th Circ. Ruling Won’t Stop Push For Proactive Insurance Deals
Orange County partner Kevin Kieffer was quoted in an October 15 Law360
article about the ninth circuit recently backpedaling from a June ruling that said carriers have a duty in California to proactively work out settlements when their insureds’ liability is clear – even when the injured
party has not made a settlement demand. According to Kieffer, the fight over the insurers’ settlement duties is not over yet. Plaintiffs bringing bad-faith claims against carriers might model their briefs after the original
Du opinion to support their position that insurers have an affirmative duty to settle.
“The bottom line is I think this issue is going to continue to be litigated,” Kieffer said. “As a practical matter, it’s going to have to be decided at some point.”