In a new decision, one of Florida's district courts of appeal understandably exonerated a liability carrier from causing an excess judgment, where the record displayed that the carrier did not act in bad faith and, even if it had, there was insufficient evidence that the carrier's conduct caused the excess judgment.
Then, exuberance apparently took over reason. The same court exhumed a long-dead doctrine of proximate cause that where the victim contributes to the damage, the defendant is immune from liability regardless of any other evidence:
The record in this case shows that GEICO did not fail to meet any deadlines or other requirements established by the estate, as a requirement for settling the claim and avoiding the filing of a lawsuit against its insured. Also, where the insured's own actions or inactions result, at least in part, in an excess judgment, the insurer cannot be liable for bad faith.
GEICO General Ins. Co. v. Harvey, No. 4D15–4724, 2017 WL 33659, at *5 (Fla. 4th DCA January 4, 2017) (emphasis by the Court; opinion released with this NOTICE: THIS OPINION HAS NOT BEEN RELEASED FOR PUBLICATION IN THE PERMANENT LAW REPORTS. UNTIL RELEASED, IT IS SUBJECT TO REVISION OR WITHDRAWAL).
Whether this once again becomes the law of Florida, or anywhere else, remains to be seen.
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