{"id":34448,"date":"2023-05-31T11:15:56","date_gmt":"2023-05-31T15:15:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.propertyinsurancecoveragelaw.com\/?p=34448"},"modified":"2023-05-31T11:15:56","modified_gmt":"2023-05-31T15:15:56","slug":"whopping-bad-faith-verdict-caused-by-insurers-hiring-the-policyholders-expert","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.propertyinsurancecoveragelaw.com\/blog\/whopping-bad-faith-verdict-caused-by-insurers-hiring-the-policyholders-expert\/","title":{"rendered":"Whopping Bad Faith Verdict Caused By Insurers Hiring the Policyholder\u2019s Expert"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>A whopping <a href=\"https:\/\/www.propertyinsurancecoveragelaw.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Indiana-Bad-Faith-Verdict-May-2023-1.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">bad faith $112 Million punitive damage verdict<\/a> in an Indiana federal court last week appears to be the result of insurers trying to \u201cflip-flop\u201d the policyholder\u2019s expert consultant.<sup>1<\/sup> The trial court noted the issue, denying the insurers\u2019 motion for summary judgment of the bad faith action: \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>Indiana GRQ argues that the insurers deceived it by hiring its remediation consultant (Jeff Pope of Burns &amp; McDonnell) to assist the insurers. Indiana GRQ calls this bad faith. Mr. Pope was hired as an environmental consultant for Indiana GRQ. He conducted testing at the site and produced an extensive report for Indiana GRQ. He produced an environmental remediation plan that Indiana GRQ signed. Mr. Pope testified that the insurers (through McLarens) retained him after his work for Indiana GRQ ceased and he stopped receiving payment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Mr. Thoman (the McLarens adjuster for the insurers) testified that the insurers hired Burns &amp; McDonnell (namely, Mr. Pope) because \u2018they had an intimate knowledge of the complexity of what was happening on site\u2019 He also said he couldn\u2019t recall another claim where insurers hired the insured\u2019s previous consultant. Mr. Pope said he was retained for only one meeting. He participated in a call with the insurers \u2018to prepare [their] best estimates for the physical damage and seepage and pollution\u2019 and to discuss \u2018opening a potential settlement\u2019 with Indiana GRQ. Thomas Lovisa, the main vendor performing the site remediation, testified this was \u2018odd,\u2019 but it strikes as far more disturbing. \u2018Courts have been quick to find a confidential relationship in situations where the [consultant] previously worked for the opposing party,\u2019 particularly when that consultant acquires confidential information during the course of representation. <em>Thompson, I.G., L.L.C. v. Edgetech I.G., Inc.<\/em>, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 126808, 9-11 (E.D. Mich. Sept. 6, 2012).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On this record, a reasonable jury could find that hiring the very consultant who once worked for Indiana GRQ on this same issue of remediation now to undermine the company\u2019s efforts for additional remediation payments was in bad faith\u2014an exercise of an unfair advantage over the insured to pressure the insured toward a settlement. See <em>id.<\/em>; <em>Koch Refin. Co. v. Jennifer L. Boudreaux MV<\/em>, 85 F.3d 1178, 1181 (5<sup>th<\/sup> Cir. 1996) (flipflopping insurer and consultant provided basis for disqualification); <em>Wang Lab\u2019ys., Inc. v. Toshiba Corp.<\/em>, 762 F. Supp. 1246, 1248 (E.D. Va. 1991) (viewing this flipflop retention of a proposed expert as \u201cclear\u201d case of concern)\u2026. The court thus must deny summary judgment on this bad faith theory.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>During the trial and in response to a motion for directed verdict, the policyholder argued:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>Testimony regarding the Defendant Insurers\u2019 furtive scheme to use and then formally retain Mr. Pope to work against the interests of IRG on the same claim he was initially retained by IRG is malicious and reprehensible, and the evidence presented by IRG at trial has been overwhelming\u2014including the testimony by Mr. Pope himself. Additionally, testimony from Shawn Keating, both the claims representative at the time for Zurich\/American Guarantee and the lead adjuster for the entire Defendant Insurer market (including Interstate), supports IRG\u2019s arguments that the retention and prior efforts to turn Mr. Pope evidenced bad faith.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>There is often a lot to be learned from cases that proceed to trial. This case has a lot more to be discussed.&nbsp;The lesson and point of this post is simple\u2014insurance company adjusters who attempt to hire the policyholder\u2019s expert may be subject to claims of bad faith. &nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Thought For The Day &nbsp;&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>Punishment is justice for the unjust.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>\u2014Saint Augustine<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><sup>1<\/sup> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.propertyinsurancecoveragelaw.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Indiana-Bad-Faith-Verdict-May-2023-1.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>Indiana GRQ v. American Guarantee &amp; Liability Ins. Co.<\/em>, No. 3:21-cv-00227 (N.D. Ind. May 25, 2023)<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A whopping bad faith $112 Million punitive damage verdict in an Indiana federal court last week appears to be the result of insurers trying to \u201cflip-flop\u201d the policyholder\u2019s expert consultant.1 The trial court noted the issue, denying the insurers\u2019 motion for summary judgment of the bad faith action: \u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":25891,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[43,248],"class_list":["post-34448","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-bad-faith","tag-expert-witness"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Whopping Bad Faith Verdict Caused By Insurers Hiring 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commercial &amp; residential property insurance claim disputes and bad faith insurance litigation. Chip is a noted national authority on insurance bad faith, lecturing to national trade groups and publishing a number of papers and articles on the subject for organizations such as The American Association for Justice, The Florida Justice Association, The Windstorm Insurance Network, and Trial Magazine. As founder and president of Merlin Law Group, Chip has dedicated his practice to the representation and advocacy of insurance policyholders in disputes with insurance companies nationwide. Chip served as Chair for the Bad Faith Insurance Litigation Group and Secretary for the Fire and Property Insurance Litigation Group for the American Association for Justice (formerly known as the Association of Trial Lawyers of America). He was also Vice-Chair for the Subcommittee on Property Insurance Law for the American Bar Association. 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