Consent Judgments are not Excess Judgments: The Eleventh Circuit Emphasizes the Excess Judgment Rule in Context of Bad Faith

As a general rule, Florida law imposes a duty of good faith on insurers to defend claims against insureds and to settle those claims where a reasonably prudent person, faced with the prospect of paying the total recovery, would do so. An insured may, rightly or wrongly, claim an insurer’s conduct in handling a claim falls short of that standard of care. But a claim for bad faith will not accrue until the alleged claims handling results in liability that exceeds the limits of the …

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Eleventh Circuit: When an Insurer Has a Duty to Defend, Its Duty to Indemnify Is Not Ripe Until Resolution of the Underlying Lawsuit

With limited exception, an insurer that owes a duty to defend to its insured cannot litigate whether it also has a duty to indemnify the insured for the same matter until after the insured’s liability has been resolved. In a unanimous decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, applying Florida law, affirmed this principle and held that an insurer’s duty to indemnify is not justiciable until the insured’s liability has been adjudicated in the underlying case. Mid-Continent Cas. Co. v. Delacruz Drywall

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Dismissal of Class Action Against Title Insurer Upheld; Duty Alleged By Appellants’ Have No Support in Florida Law

Bleich et al. v. Chicago Title Insurance Co.,
Third District Court of Appeal, Florida; Case number 3D12-1261
Plaintiffs Arthur Bleich and Gloris Elder (plaintiffs) appealed an award of summary judgment in favor of the defendant, Chicago Title Insurance Company (Chicago Title), dismissing the underlying class action lawsuit against Chicago Title for claims of overcharging for title insurance. The lower court granted summary judgment on the basis that Florida law did not require Chicago Title to search for homeowners’ prior insurance policies to see if they …

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