In Linthicum v. Mendakota Ins. Co., the 11th Circuit affirmed the grant of summary judgment to an insurer in the bad-faith, failure to settle context confirming that “[a]n insurer is not liable for failing to respond to a time-sensitive offer to settle for policy limits when the offer does not …
Over 100 years ago, Henry Ford’s assembly line made cars available to the masses, making horse drawn carriages a thing of the past. But Ford’s innovation didn’t prevent cars from rear-ending each other for the next century. But soon, rear-end collisions will be another relic of the past. How? The …
The Georgia Court of Appeals recently reversed a trial court’s denial of a purported insurer’s motion to dismiss a declaratory action brought by a plaintiff in an ongoing underlying case against the insurer’s purported insured. The Court of Appeals noted that “[a]s a general rule, a plaintiff does not hav[e] …
In a game-changing decision, the Georgia Supreme Court eliminated bad-faith failure to settle cases absent a “valid offer” from the injured party. In First Acceptance, the Georgia Supreme Court ruled as follows: “We also asked the parties to address whether an insurer’s duty to settle arises only when the injured party presents …
With the 2018 mid-term elections in the books, Georgia litigators have two primary takeaways that may affect their practices going forward. First, while Georgia remained a primarily Republican state, there was a noticeable “blue wave” that represents a shift from 2014 and 2016. These outcomes were particularly apparent in North …
Gwinnett County, Georgia is known as a moderate venue. Conservative on some days. I’ve seen $100,000 in medical bills render a $2,000 verdict. This week though, the jury shocked me. Our firm was helping in a defense as Underinsured Motorist carrier in a case (Harry v. Matasic) with $50,000 in …