We will keep the actors in the following scenes anonymous. We will not only keep personalities out of this. We will not distract our thinking with personalities.
Assume that when Special Counsel Robert Mueller is fired, that the person or persons involved do not have immunity for their conduct.
Assume further that someone would have standing to sue because Mr. Mueller is fired as Special Counsel. (That is a big assumption given the current composition of the Supreme Court.)
There are questions whether firing Bob Mueller will be actionable bad faith under any likely set of circumstances.
Refusal or failure to defend? Suppose that a liability carrier for one of the persons sued for firing Special Counsel Mueller, failed and refused to defend that person?
When a liability carrier wrongfully refuses or fails to defend, it is not so much bad faith as a breach of contract. It may be a breach of contract with potentially disastrous consequences, that is sure, but it is a breach of contract nonetheless.
Contract breach or bad faith, there could certainly be a wrongful refusal or failure to defend here, assuming coverage in the first place.
Failure to initiate settlement negotiations?
Breach of settlement duties?
These questions presuppose an answer to an underlying question:
What would settlement look like?
Until we have an answer to that question in our own minds, we cannot explore bad faith breach of settlement obligations of a liability carrier for a person responsible in some part for the firing of Special Counsel Robert Mueller. Until then, we must come to a stop.
Perhaps this is an illustration of why "bad faith" does not always mean the same thing as extracontractual damages.
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