Absent Policyholder Demand To Settle, Seventh Circuit Affirms Dismissal of Bad Faith Action Against Insurer After Unexpected Excess Judgment

The Seventh Circuit, applying Illinois law, recently tackled the highly-charged issue of a bad faith claim against an insurer for failing to settle for the policy limit. In Surgery Center at 900 North Michigan Avenue, LLC v. American Physicians Assurance Corp., Inc., the Seventh Circuit closely scrutinized the facts and affirmed the trial court’s decision that the insurer did not act in bad faith.

 The coverage dispute arose between the Surgery Center at 900 North Michigan Avenue, LLC (Surgery Center) and its insurer when …

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South Carolina Supreme Court: Medical Malpractice Statute of Repose Bars Claims for Equitable Indemnity

In Columbia/CSA-HS Greater Columbia Healthcare Sys., LP v. S. Carolina Med. Malpractice Liab. Joint Underwriting Ass’n, 2015 WL 249536 (S.C. Jan. 21, 2015), the Supreme Court of South Carolina affirmed two lower courts’ constructions of the medical malpractice statute of repose and barred a hospital from seeking indemnification from an ER doctor who misdiagnosed a patient, despite a strong dissent by two justices, including Chief Justice Toal.

In May of 1997, patient Arthur Sharpe sought medical treatment in Providence Hospital’s emergency room for chest …

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