In part 4 my series on Proving and Winning a First Party Bad Faith Case I posted the Request for Admissions I recently served on the insurer’s attorney on a case in federal court in the Western District of Missouri. Along with the Request for Admissions I filed the following Interrogatories on the Defendant, United Fire and Casualty Company.

These interrogatories will provide me with information regarding how the policyholder’s claim was handled, and information to determine who I will depose. Questions 5 and 6 are important as they require the person responding to the Request for Admissions to state the reasons why the admission is not admitted.

INTERROGATORIES

 1. Please state the name, last known address and employment position of all non-lawyer person(s) participating in answering these interrogatories, or any one of them, identify the interrogatory answer(s) which each person(s) participated in answering, and state the manner of each such person’s participation.

(a) Has the person who has signed the answers to these interrogatories been authorized to do so?

(b) Does the person who has signed the answers to these interrogatories have personal knowledge concerning all facts and information as set forth in such answers? If not, set forth those interrogatory answers containing facts of which the person signing has no personal knowledge and state the precise source(s) of information (names of witnesses and precise identities of documents, by description, document number, title, author, subject matter and date) consulted by such person before signing the answers under oath.

2. Identify each person at UNITED, or at UNITED’s agent, consultant, or independent adjuster offices that examined or investigated Plaintiff’s claim and state with particularity the substance of the information each such person has, including, without limitation, any:

a. Person responsible for evaluating, investigating, researching, examining, inspecting, or deciding whether to pay insurance benefits to Plaintiff;

When responding to this interrogatory, also identify all supporting documents.

3. Do you expect to call at the time of trial any expert witnesses? If so, please state:

(a) The name, address, occupation, place of employment and qualifications to give an opinion (or attach a curriculum vitae for each expert if this information appears on it);

(b) The general nature of the subject matter on which each expert is expected to testify and the hourly deposition fee for each expert.

4. Identify each non-retained expert witness, including a party, whom you expect to call at trial, to provide testimony relative to scientific, technical or other specialized knowledge and with respect to each such person, please provide such person’s name, address and field of expertise as well as the subject matter on which each such expert is expected to testify and the field of expertise of each such expert.

5. With respect to an Request to Admit set forth above in which Defendant’s response was not an unqualified admission, please state all facts on which Defendant relies for its response, identify all documents that state or reflect any such fact, and identify all persons with knowledge of each such fact.

6. With respect to any Request for Admit set forth above in which Defendant’s response was not an unqualified admission, please state all facts known to Defendant which would enable Defendant to admit and such Request without qualification.

7. With respect to any payment amounts issued to the plaintiff in this matter since the date of the loss, please list all payment amounts and for each payment amount please state under which insurance coverage within the policy of insurance between the plaintiff and the defendant that the payment was made.

8. Does Defendant have any statements, oral or written from any witness? If so, please produce the name and address of each witness, the date of such statement, state whether such statement was written or oral, and the name of the person presently in custody of such statement.

9. With respect to UNITED’s investigation into the extent of damages related to this claim, and assuming liability under the policy of insurance issued by UNITED to Plaintiff, state the following:

a. The actual cash value of the loss and damage to the premises as a result of the occurrence alleged;

b. The actual cash value of the loss and damage to personal property and contents and goods contained in the premises as a result of the occurrence alleged; and,

c. The name and job title of the individual whose knowledge the information provided in the answer to this interrogatory is based.

10. List the name(s) and current address(es) who have knowledge of the facts of the losses alleged in Plaintiff’s Complaint and/or the damages following therefrom.

11. State the name(s) and current address(es) of all persons at UNITED who prepared notices, memos, letters, invoices, statements, or other written correspondence pertaining to the insured premises.

12. Identify the name, current address, and current telephone number of all expert witnesses who will testify at trial on behalf of UNITED. For each individual, please provide the following:

a. The subject matter on which the witness is expected to testify;

b. The conclusions and opinions of each witness and the basis thereof;

c. The qualifications of each witness; and,

d. Any reports prepared by the witness.

13. Identify the name, current address, and current telephone number of all witnesses who will testify at trial on behalf of UNITED. For each witness identified, please provide the subject matter of each witnesses testimony.

14. Identify the dates any underwriting inspections were made, by whom they were made, produce a copy of the inspection results, and produce any and/or correspondence that was sent by UNITED following any underwriting inspections.

15. Identify by name the corporate representatives of UNITED who are most knowledgeable regarding UNITED’s Answer to Plaintiff’s Complaint.

The above listed interrogatories were the first 15 I sent. The reason many of these interrogatories were sent was to gather facts necessary to determine who I should take an oral deposition from regarding United’s claim practices and the manner in which they handled our client’s claim. Also, as stated above, questions 5 and 6 will be used to determine whether or not the responses to the Request for Admissions sent were proper.

In my next blog I will discuss who I decided to depose and why.