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Course Details

Course Information
  • smart_display Format

    On-Demand

  • signal_cellular_alt Difficulty Level

    Intermediate

  • work Practice Area

    Insurance

Date & Time
  • event Date

    Wednesday, February 19, 2025

  • schedule Time

    1:00 p.m. ET./10:00 a.m. PT

  • timer Program Length

    90 minutes

Credit Information

  • This 90-minute webinar is eligible in most states for 1.5 CLE credits.

$297.00
CLE
ALL

This CLE webinar will discuss the unique challenges of using opinion experts in bad faith insurance litigation, the legal requirements for tendering expert testimony at trial, and objections to overcome.

Faculty

Guy O. Kornblum
Principal
Guy O. Kornblum, APLC

Mr. Kornblum has specialized as a trial and appellate lawyer for 45 years. He has handled over 3,500 litigated matters to conclusion and has several million dollar plus cases to his credit. Mr. Kornblum’s practice focuses on representing plaintiffs, claimants, policyholders and victims of tortious and contractual wrongs in insurance bad faith, among other claims.

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Josh Franklin
Partner
Franklin Soto Leeds, LLP

Mr. Franklin is a business trial lawyer who has tried nearly fifty jury trials in his career. He handles cases throughout California and Colorado, focusing primarily on insurance coverage/bad faith litigation and business litigation. Mr. Franklin has represented mutual funds, software companies, biotech companies, contractors, developers, manufacturers, law firms, accounting firms, medical practices, small businesses, and individuals as both plaintiffs and defendants in a variety of high-stakes disputes. He represents businesses in disputes alleging breach of contract and business torts, including fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, and unfair competition. Mr. Franklin also handles civil actions alleging violations of various state and federal statutes, including California’s Unfair Competition Law (“UCL”), False Advertising Law (“FAL”), Consumer Legal Remedies Act (“CLRA”), and the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (“RICO”). Apart from his litigation practice, he completed mediation training at Pepperdine University’s Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution and occasionally serves as a mediator for commercial insurance coverage disputes. Mr. Franklin is currently a member of the Mediation Panel for the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

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Bradley A. Levin
Shareholder
Levin Sitcoff Waneka, PC

Mr. Levin focuses his practice on tort and commercial litigation, especially insurance bad faith and insurance coverage disputes, representing corporate and individual policyholders alike. He argued the leading Colorado case concerning pre-judgment assignment agreements to the state supreme court. Mr. Levin lectures frequently on insurance law topics.

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Description

Expert witnesses can play a critical role in coverage and bad faith litigation by helping a jury understand complicated concepts, such as the proper standard of care or the science of how a loss occurred or progressed. However, experts cannot render legal opinions by interpreting the policy or testifying as to the scope of an insurer's duty under the policy.

Both plaintiffs and defendants use experts in bad faith litigation. Claims adjusters are typically used in bad faith litigation to opine as to the reasonableness of another claims adjuster's conduct. Underwriters are typically experts in coverage litigation providing an opinion on underwriting specific risks and the intent of specific policy provisions.

Litigators must avoid the pitfalls of using expert witnesses whose credibility might be attacked based on previous testimony, the expert's relationship with a particular insurance company, or who lacks specific experience with the subject or facts at issue.

Listen as our authoritative panel of insurance attorneys discusses the evidentiary rules governing the admissibility of expert opinion testimony in insurance coverage and bad faith litigation and best practices for getting the testimony or keeping it out.

Outline

  1. Overview of evidentiary rules on expert opinion testimony
  2. Typical insurance experts (underwriters, claims handlers, brokers, regulators, and attorneys)
  3. Opinions in coverage litigation (underwriting risks, duties under the policy, the ambiguity of policy language)
  4. Opinions in bad faith claims (standard of care in the industry, the reasonableness of claims adjuster's conduct)
  5. Objections to witness testimony and avoiding pitfalls in presenting expert opinions

Benefits

The panel will review these and other key issues:

  • On what issues are experts not permitted to render opinions?
  • What industry experts are best suited for bad faith claims, and what are typical challenges or objections to their testimony?
  • What industry experts are best suited for insurance coverage claims, and what are frequent challenges or objections to their testimony?
  • Under what circumstances would attorneys play a role in presenting expert witness opinions?