In the case of Vantage View, Inc. v. QBE Insurance Corp., Download Vantage View, Inc. v. QBE Insurance Corp. (S.D. Fla. Case No. 07.61038.CIV, Order Filed September 21, 2010) PUBLIC ACCESS also published as 2010 WL 3746139 (S.D. Fla. September 21, 2010)(Westlaw subscription required to access Westlaw), the First-Party Insurance Company objected to a Magistrate-Judge's Recommendation Awarding the Insured Attorney's Fees. That case involved Damages Claims and alleged Bad Faith Claim Handling following Hurricane Wilma.
The District Judge reversed the Recommendation of the Magistrate-Judge in part on the basis of settled Florida Law:
[A] bad faith claim does not mature until there is a final determination of the insurer's liability and the amount of damages owed by the insurer ....
Vantage View, Inc. v. QBE Insurance Corp., 2010 WL 3746139 at *1.
However, the Insurance Company still has to pay over a Million Dollars for the Insured's Attorney's Fees and taxable Costs in this case:
Plaintiff's Motion for Attorney's Fees and to Tax Costs ... are GRANTED in the amount of $1,130,002.63 in attorney's fees ($153,980.00 for the Garfinkel law firm and $976,022.63 for the law firm of Greenberg Traurig, P.A.) and $81,665.45 in costs, for a total attorney's fees and cost award of $1,211.688.08.
Id. at *2.
Sometimes cutting losses is the best outcome that a lawyer can obtain for a client. Sometimes obtaining over a Million Dollars in Attorney's Fees and Costs is the best outcome that a lawyer can obtain for a client. Particularly in a Bad Faith Case that has not yet matured, but will mature if nothing is done.
The grounds for Attorney's Fees and Costs Claims in Insurance Bad Faith Cases have largely been addressed in Cases resolved long before current Catastrophes have given rise to more such Claims. These and similar Questions have in general terms been addressed by many Courts, in many decided Cases. Dennis Wall is Co-Author of the leading book on Insurance Coverage for Catastrophe Claims, "CATClaims: Insurance Coverage for Natural and Man-Made Disasters" (West Publishing Company 2008; 2010 Supplement in process). Mr. Wall will speak on Business Interruption Insurance Coverage Issues including those arising out of the BP Oil Spill Catastrophe, on November 17, 2010, at a Seminar of the Insurance Law Committee sponsored by the Orange County Bar Association in Orlando, Florida. Mr. Wall will also speak on a panel at the American Conference Institute's Bad Faith Litigation Conference in Orlando, Florida on November 30, 2010 on "Dealing With Catastrophic Disasters: How to Properly Investigate and Handle Overwhelming Claims". The author has been advised by the American Conference Institute that the ACI is continuing to offer a discount to readers of this Blog who may wish to attend this year's Bad Faith Litigation Conference in Orlando: Download ACI Advises Readers of the Insurance Claims and Issues and Insurance Claims and Bad Faith Law Blog are entitled to a discount.
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