Lee S. Haramis, Sr., sued Allstate's Insured in Florida State Court. Allstate settled that lawsuit. Mr. Haramis executed "a Complete Release of All Claims and Agreement to Hold Harmless and Indemnify". The only insurance policy limits referenced in that Release, according to a highly respected Federal Judge now on senior status, were policy limits for Bodily Injury and Property Damage Liability Coverages. See Haramis v. Allstate Property & Casualty Insurance Co., 2011 WL 5510730 *1-*2 (M.D. Fla. November 10, 2011), Download Haramis v. Allstate Property and Casualty Insurance Co. (M.D. Fla. Case No. 3.11cv455, Order Filed Nov. 10, 2011) PUBLIC ACCESS.
Mr. Haramis then sued Allstate as personal representative of his daughter's Estate, seeking Uninsured Motorist benefits. Allstate defended itself by raising the Release in the earlier lawsuit.
The Federal Judge held that the earlier Release did not entitle Allstate to Summary Judgment in the U.M. lawsuit. Instead, the Release is "ambiguous," the Court held, denying Allstate's Motion for Summary Judgment. In pertinent part, although the Release of the first lawsuit recited on its face that it was for policy limits, "[t]he Court notes that the only policy limits referenced in the Release are those for bodily injury coverage and property damage liability coverage. The release is silent as to uninsured motorist coverage limits." Id. at *3. [Emphasis added.]
Parenthetically, the Release in the first lawsuit was drafted to include an express Release "'from any claims whatsoever arising from allegations of bad faith dealing, breach of insurance contract, negligent claims adjustment or otherwise actionable conduct by [Defendant] in its claims defense activities ....'" In addition, although the Court did not dwell on the fact, the earlier Release expressly applied to certain claims and not others. It reached claims "'of any kind or nature (other than claims for first-party insurance, medical, or governmental benefits from other entities not named herein)....'" Id. at *2.
The 22nd Annual Bad Faith Litigation Conference of the American Conference Institute is being held in 2011 in Orlando, Florida on November 30 and December 1, 2011. The author will be speaking on two panels. Here is a link to the American Conference Institute Website Page which features this Conference including registration. If you or someone you know would like to attend, the ACI is offering a discount to the readers of this weblog. If you would like to explore the ACI discount offer, contact:
Priority Code: TM-MGN
Marc Gerstein
Delegate Coordinator
Office: 1-212-352-3220 x5432
Please Read The Disclaimer.
Comments