COVID ICU patient in Sarasota, Florida hospital. (Shannon Stapleton / Reuters)
A settlement demand for policy limits in a first-party case may not be enough to establish the amount in controversy in the face of other evidence in the record. This was the state of the record in one such case, even though a settlement demand had been accompanied by three and a half years of past medical bills totaling $34,668.00[1]
[1] Gillespie v. Auto-Owners Ins. Co., No. 8:23-cv-296-CEH-AAS, 2023 WL 2755115, at *4 (M.D. Fla. April 3, 2023) ("Without any such support [from the record evidence], Plaintiff's demand of the $100,000 policy limit, or her statement that her damages exceed it, appears to be posturing rather than a reasoned evaluation of her claim.").
The Gillespie decision and other significant cases of alleged first-party insurance bad faith are discussed in 2 DENNIS J. WALL, LITIGATION AND PREVENTION OF INSURER BAD FAITH § 11:23, Removal and Remand (3d Edition, West Publishing Company; 2023 Supplements in process). Please read the disclaimer. This blog article ©2023 Dennis J. Wall. All rights reserved.
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