Bad Faith Litigation: Insurer's Discovery of Plaintiff's Privileged Information
Strategies for Discovering Policyholder Communications With Legal Counsel, Counsel's Work Product
Course Details
- smart_display Format
On-Demand
- signal_cellular_alt Difficulty Level
Intermediate
- work Practice Area
Insurance
- event Date
Tuesday, November 5, 2024
- schedule Time
1:00 p.m. ET./10:00 a.m. PT
- timer Program Length
90 minutes
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This 90-minute webinar is eligible in most states for 1.5 CLE credits.
This CLE webinar will discuss strategies for discovering policyholders' communications with their legal counsel, including counsel's work product. The program will review which states have weakened or destroyed insurers' testimonial and work product privileges, the severe consequences of treating coverage counsel like a claims adjuster, and why courts deconstruct privilege. The panel will offer guidance on leveraging the same principles to access the same privileged information from the insured.
Mr. Jacobus' practice over the past decade has largely centered on high risk, high value insurance coverage litigation, but he comes from a broad civil and commercial litigation and trial background. He has tried jury trials to verdict in CA, IL and LA. Several of his cases have resulted in written opinions in trial courts and courts of appeal, and he has argued appeals in both state and federal courts.
Mr. Currie has been practicing law in the State of Mississippi since graduating from the University of Mississippi School of Law in 1976. In addition to eight years of teaching as an adjunct professor at the Mississippi College School of Law, his practice has run the gamut of insurance defense matters. Mr. Currie has served on the faculties of the International Association of Defense and Corporate Counsel Trial Academy, The National Institute for Trial Advocacy, and Trial Academies of the Mississippi Defense Lawyers Association.
With increasing frequency, courts in bad faith litigation are refusing to apply the attorney-client privilege and work product protection to the communications and opinions of the insurer's coverage counsel on grounds that coverage counsel is investigating, evaluating, or assisting the claims adjusting process. If the insurer relies on the coverage opinion to deny a claim, then courts may rule that those opinions and papers have been issued.
These same principles and logic may offer insurers the same opportunities to obtain policyholders' privileged information regarding the same topics of investigation and evaluation of underlying claims and defenses.
Listen as this innovative and experienced panel of esteemed insurer counsel reviews the state of the law across the nation and offers a potential roadmap for getting the same kind of privileged information from policyholders.
- State approaches to the "no privilege" rule
- Asserting a "reverse" bad faith counterclaim
- Insurer discovery in first-party property bad faith
- Arguing waiver of policyholder privilege
The panel will review these and other pivotal issues:
- Are pre-suit communications between insurer and coverage counsel, the claim file, and coverage counsel's file discoverable?
- Does involving coverage counsel automatically waive attorney-client privilege or work product protection?
- What strategies support access to plaintiffs' privileged information?
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