Another decision under Florida Law has been issued which again applies and clarifies the Duty of a Liability Insurer to Initiate Settlement Negotiations with an Injured Claimant. In a case where the claimant does not make a settlement demand, and also the Insured's liability is "clear," and also the injuries are so serious that a judgment in excess of the Liability Insurance Policy Limits is "likely," then a Liability Insurer has a Duty to Initiate Settlement Negotiations under Florida Law. Download MacHalette v. Southern-Owners Insurance Co. (M.D. Fla. Case No. 8.10cv600, Order Filed August 23, 2011) PUBLIC ACCESS, also published as 2011 WL 3703368 *5 (M.D. Fla. August 23, 2011)(authorized password required to access Westlaw).
In the case at bar, the Federal Judge determined that there was no Insurer Bad Faith as a matter of law. In that case, the Liability Insurance Company did not have medical information to confirm the asserted injuries for which its Insured might be held liable, and it "went to great lengths to obtain verification" of the claimant's damages. Id. "The record is undisputed that Walker [the Injured Claimant's Attorney] did not provide the necessary information for more than five months, despite Southern-Owners' numerous requests for same." When the information was ultimately provided, "and Southern-Owners was able to verify the extent" of injuries, "it tendered a check" for the policy limit. Id. at *6.
On a record which did not reveal a genuine issue of material fact, the Federal Court granted Southern-Owners' Motion for Summary Judgment on this "bad-faith insurance claim".
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