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Reasonableness in Bad Faith Cases: A Question for the Jury?
As the law of insurer bad faith evolves, the question of whether policyholders are entitled to a jury trial of their claims, or parts of their claims, comes increasingly into focus. In cases where the policyholder alleges bad faith in the manner in which a claim is investigated or handled ' so-called “procedural” bad faith ' factual issues for the jury often abound. But when an insurer timely and clearly declines coverage following an adequate investigation, should the “reasonableness” of that declination be submitted to a jury? From both a practical and a policy perspective, the answer in most cases should be no.
Practically speaking, the issues raised by the insurer's declination will often turn on the insurer's analysis of the policy, the controlling law, or optimal negotiation or litigation strategy. The typical bad faith declination case is inherently “litigation about law” that is outside the jury's purview. Even if a jury were allowed to hear evidence of the law, the state of prevailing precedent makes it difficult to imagine laypersons passing upon whether a coverage position meets the legal standard of being “fairly debatable” (or as some jurisdictions describe the standard, having a “reasonable basis”). It is hardly radical to suggest that the scope afforded in the law for fair debate about complex coverage questions is a question for the court.
Bankruptcy Sales: Finding a Diamond In the Rough
There is no efficient market for the sale of bankruptcy assets. Inefficient markets yield a transactional drag, potentially dampening the ability of debtors and trustees to maximize value for creditors. This article identifies ways in which investors may more easily discover bankruptcy asset sales.
Judge Rules Shaquille O'Neal Will Face Securities Lawsuit for Promotion, Sale of NFTs
A federal district court in Miami, FL, has ruled that former National Basketball Association star Shaquille O'Neal will have to face a lawsuit over his promotion of unregistered securities in the form of cryptocurrency tokens and that he was a "seller" of these unregistered securities.
Why So Many Great Lawyers Stink at Business Development and What Law Firms Are Doing About It
Why is it that those who are best skilled at advocating for others are ill-equipped at advocating for their own skills and what to do about it?
Blockchain Domains: New Developments for Brand Owners
Blockchain domain names offer decentralized alternatives to traditional DNS-based domain names, promising enhanced security, privacy and censorship resistance. However, these benefits come with significant challenges, particularly for brand owners seeking to protect their trademarks in these new digital spaces.
Coverage Issues Stemming from Dry Cleaner Contamination Suits
In recent years, there has been a growing number of dry cleaners claiming to be "organic," "green," or "eco-friendly." While that may be true with respect to some, many dry cleaners continue to use a cleaning method involving the use of a solvent called perchloroethylene, commonly known as perc. And, there seems to be an increasing number of lawsuits stemming from environmental problems associated with historic dry cleaning operations utilizing this chemical.