Bad Faith Insurance Litigation in CA (Recorded Package and OnDemand Streaming)

What You Will Learn

Part 1: Tuesday, April 16, 2024
1:00 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.

1:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.
Navigating Policy Defenses: “Appraisal” of  Property Insurance Claims in the Bad Faith Context
Harry Chamberlain and Susan Page White, Buchalter (plaintiff and defense perspective)

• Appraisal Process for property valuation disputes – when is it mandatory?
• The Standard Fire Policy – standard policy vs. statutory conditions to payment
• What kind of losses are subject to the condition? Only “fire”?
• Appraisal of property losses is “like arbitration” … why sometimes it ISN’T
• What happens to other “coverage” issues?
• Exhaustion of contractual remedies – overcoming legal obstacles
• Waiver, estoppel and bad faith – when is the condition excused?
• The declared-disaster exception
• Selection of “competent and disinterested” appraisers
• Role of the Neutral Umpire
• Limited discovery during appraisal – other options under the Standard Policy
• Role of retained experts
• Valuation methods
• May the appraisal panel consider “coverage” issues?
• Coordinating judicial remedies – before, during and after appraisal

2:40 p.m. – 3:15 p.m.
Bad Faith in Cybersecurity Insurance Coverage
Harry Chamberlain and Susan Page White

The California Lawyers Association Financial Institutions Practice Group rated Cybersecurity Insurance as the #1 topic that concerned their executives. This session will help attorneys proactively assure that their clients are getting the specialized protections that they “bargained for” in this high-risk area of routine business operations, and are knowledgeable about available options and legal remedies if they “don’t.”

• Hard Sell Marketing – who “needs” cyber security insurance?
• Pros and Cons – benefits vs. costs of this specialty coverage
• First party and third party aspects
• Have we got a deal for you! Better get it in “writing”
• Buyer beware – carefully check the coverages and services actually offered
• Importance of your accurate policy application answers
• Watch out for conditions, narrowed and excluded cyber risks, sublimits, co-insurance
• Claims and litigation of cybersecurity insurance claims

3:25 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Bad Faith and Coverage Cases – 2024 Trends and Updates
Susan Koehler Sullivan and Cecilia O’Connell Miller 

COVID-19 – certified questions pending in the CA Supreme Court

• Another Planet Entertainment v. Vigilant Ins. Co.: “Can the actual or potential presence of the COVID-19 virus on an insured’s premises constitute ‘direct physical loss or damage to property’” under standard commercial property policies?
• French Laundry Partners, John’s Grill, Inc. v. Hartford – Manuscript policies, concurrent causation: Is the virus exclusion in French Laundry’s business policy unenforceable because enforcing it would render illusory a limited virus coverage provision allowing for the possibility of coverage due to government closures?
• Trends and Developments in other jurisdictions
• Pitzer College v. Indian Harbor Ins. Co. –  CA’s notice-prejudice rule … 5 years later
• Rosenberg-Wohl v. State Farm – Statute of limitations for Unfair Competition Law claims — one year (under the Standard Fire Policy) or four years (under the UCL)?
• Truck Ins. Exchange v. Kaiser Cement – 30 years after Montrose and counting … what are the rules governing vertical or horizontal exhaustion of primary policies?
• Reigning-in the “genuine dispute” defense to bad faith – always a battle of the experts?

Part 2: Thursday, April 18, 2024
1:00 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.

1:00 p.m. – 2:15 p.m.
Settlement/Failure to Settle the Underlying Claim and Remedies in Bad Faith Cases
Ricardo Echeverria and Jennifer Yu Sacro

• Understanding the Duty to Settle
• The Three Duties
  –       Duty to Defend
  –       Duty to Indemnify
  –       Duty to Settle
• Triggering the Duty to Settle
• CACI 2334 “Reasonable Settlement Demand”
• Pinto v. Farmers
• Control of Settlement
• Consent Clauses
• Hammer Clauses
• Blue Ridge Reimbursement Claims
• Remedies
• Assignments/Covenants
• Attorney Fees

Remedies

• Differences in state remedies
• Montrose stay
• Breach of duty to defend?
• Breach of duty to settle/indemnify
• Structures for settlement
  • Assignments/covenants
  • Compensatory/attorney fees/punitive
  • Insurer’s right to reimbursement

2:25 p.m. – 3:25 p.m.
Litigating First Party Bad Faith Cases
Michael Bidart and Larry Golub

• Insurance Industry Standards
• Homeowners Property Insurance
• Bad Faith Issues
• Initiating Litigation
• Law & Motion
  • Demurrer Issues
  • -MSJ Issues
• Burden of Proof Standards
• Recoverable Damages 

3:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Trial Strategy, Winning Themes, and Other Critical Issues in Bad Faith Litigation
Michael Bidart and Marshall Cole

Testimonials

These testimonials are from prior CA Bad Faith Insurance programs by essentially the same faculty. Some of the same topics, like Michael Bidart’s discussions regarding Bad Faith Litigation tactics, are the same:

“Excellent panelists. Very knowledgeable speakers. Presenters had tremendous expertise, including a lot of trial experience in the area.” – William Mielke Walker, Esq.

“Great speakers and very informative!” – Chad Tapp, Esq.

“Very informative program. Well organized. Knowledgeable speakers. A great introductory seminar for those new to insurance related litigation but also very concise summary of information for those who’ve been practicing it for a few years as well.”

“Ricardo Echeverria is great!” – Michelle J. Smythe, Esq.

“Very knowledgeable, well-organized speakers.”

“Well done. Speakers obviously very capable in this area of law. Very well informed.”

“Harry Chamberlain had an excellent grasp of the topics and authoritative explanations of the subject matter. Ricardo Echeverria’s presentation included great use of real-world cases and stories to illustrate the principles and why they matter in practice.”

“Very good, in-depth.” – William Mielke Walker, Esq.

“Excellent speakers, terrific overview of bad faith issues.” –Daniel Tripathi, Esq.

“Good speakers, very knowledgeable.” – Meredith Stewart, Esq.

“Content and presentation were excellent regarding cases where insured is sued by 3rd party.” – Susan Brubeck, Esq.

”Excellent.” – Sam Rudolph, Esq.

“Excellent seminar, very thorough. Excellent panel and good price for amount of knowledge gained.”

“Completely satisfied.” – Allison Donohue, Esq.

“Harry is very experienced. Impressive how he has memorized specific sections of regulations. Ricardo has great trial experience. He shed a lot of light on how these cases will turn out. Larry is very experienced/has thorough knowledge of the area. Knows everything.”

“I was impressed with the content. This is exceeded my expectation that it would be a basics only discussion.”

“Well-organized and informative program.”

“Michael Bidart was very detail oriented and knowledgeable.”

“Good use of examples to illustrate the points made in Ricardo’s presentation; clearly and effectively communicated.”

“Larry Golub had broad knowledge of the area and skillfully applied concepts to current issues.”

“Ricardo has a great presence. Easy and clear to understand. Relatable/understandable references.”

“Program was informative and interesting and provided a good overview of first party insurance claims.”

“Excellent panel. One of the best panels I’ve seen.”

“Very satisfied.”

“It is great!”

“The speakers were great. Very informative.”

“Well-done.”

“Informative!”

Faculty

Michael J. Bidart, Esq.
Partner
Shernoff Bidart Echeverria LLP

As a preeminent consumer attorney, Michael J. Bidart has made a major impact on our healthcare system. Mr. Bidart is the Managing Partner for the firm, and he leads the firm’s HMO Litigation and Property/Casualty Departments.

Since bringing his expertise to the firm in 1986, Mr. Bidart has developed the firm’s health insurance practice by successfully prosecuting bad faith disputes against insurers and HMOs.

Mr. Bidart has been named a Super Lawyer by Law & Politics Magazine every year since 2004, has been a Super Lawyer Top 100 Attorney every year since 2004 and Top 10 in 2019. In 2019, he was named a Top Healthcare Attorney in California by the Los Angeles Daily Journal. He has been profiled in the National Law Journal, The American Lawyer and California Lawyer Magazine, which have recognized him as one of California’s most influential lawyers. The Wall Street Journal has also noted that Mr. Bidart’s success in healthcare litigation helped to reignite the debate in Congress over whether patients should have the right to sue their health plans.

A well-known lecturer and keynote speaker on HMO litigation and bad faith insurance practices, Mr. Bidart has been a featured speaker for the Association of Trial Lawyers of America, Consumer Attorneys of California, American Conference Institute, The Rutter Group, the California Judges Association and many others.

Mr. Bidart graduated from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona (B.S., 1971) and Pepperdine University School of Law (J.D., 1974) and has been the recipient of the Distinguished Alumnus Award of both universities.

Harry W.R. Chamberlain II, Esq.
Shareholder, Certified Legal Specialist in Appellate Law
Buchalter

Harry Chamberlain is a Shareholder of Buchalter, an Am Law 150 firm, with eleven Western U.S. offices. For over 40 years, he has served as trial and appellate counsel for Fortune 500 companies, and a variety of public and private sector clients in complex litigation matters. He is certified as an Appellate Specialist by the California State Bar Board of Legal Specialization, handling hundreds of appeals across the country, including numerous cases before the California Supreme Court and the highest courts of other states.                                                           

Before joining Buchalter, Harry was general counsel for California‐based professional liability insurers, and managed the law department of a national group of commercial insurance and financial service companies. He is past president of California Defense Counsel and the Association of Southern California Defense Counsel, preeminent associations of civil defense trial and appellate lawyers. He writes and lectures widely on topics regarding complex litigation, professional responsibility and insurance law.

Marshall R. Cole, Esq.

Nemecek & Cole

Marshall is one of Nemecek & Cole’s highly skilled trial attorneys who has extensive experience handling complex and high-profile matters through trial. Named by the Daily Journal as one of the top professional liability attorneys in the State of California, Marshall represents many of the most successful and innovative licensed professionals in the United States through all aspects of litigation. Marshall also handles complex civil litigation matters arising out of real estate disputes, tax matters, sexual harassment claims and contract related disputes. With a proactive, decisive and approachable style, Marshall is known as an incredible problem solver who is able to resolve cases early and efficiently. When matters cannot be resolved, these same skills have allowed Marshall to maintain a consistent track record of obtaining verdicts in favor of his clients at trial. Marshall also donates his time serving as a Volunteer Prosecutor for the City of Inglewood.

Ricardo Echeverria, Esq.
Partner
Shernoff Bidart Echeverria LLP

Ricardo Echeverria is a trial attorney with Shernoff Bidart Echeverria LLP handling insurance bad faith and catastrophic personal injury cases. Mr. Echeverria is a past-president of the Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles (CAALA) the nation’s largest local association of plaintiffs’ attorneys. He was recognized as one of the Top 30 Plaintiff Lawyers in California in 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022, and was named one of the Top 100 Attorneys in California in 2017, 2018 and 2023 by the Los Angeles Daily Journal. He was honored by the Orange County Trial Lawyers Association as the 2021 Top Gun Trial Lawyer of the Year. In 2019, he was honored with the Lifetime Legal Achievement Award from Consumer Watchdog. In 2023, Ricardo was recently inducted into The Inner Circle of Advocates, known as the 100 best plaintiff lawyers in the U.S. The Inner Circle of Advocates is an exclusive, invitation-only group of the best plaintiff lawyers in the United States.

Mr. Echeverria was named 2019 Trial Lawyer of the Year by Consumer Attorneys of Inland Empire and was also named the 2010 Trial Lawyer of the Year by CAALA after having been nominated for the award from 2006 through 2009. He has also been a finalist for the Consumer Attorneys of California’s Consumer Attorney of the Year in 2007, 2009, 2018 and 2020. He was also a finalist for the San Francisco Trial Lawyers Association 2019 Trial Lawyer of the Year. Mr. Echeverria was presented the 2011 – 2012 Jennifer Brooks Lawyer of the Year Award by the Western San Bernardino County Bar Association. In 2012, he received an Outstanding Trial Lawyer Award from the Consumer Attorneys of San Diego. He has been named a Super Lawyer by Super Lawyers Magazine every year since 2005. He has been named a “Best Lawyer” by the Best Lawyers in America publication every year since 2014.

Larry M. Golub, Esq.
Litigation Partner
Sacro & Walker LLP

Larry Golub is a litigator who focuses his practice on a wide range of litigation matters for both insurance and non-insurance clients. With more than 35 years of civil litigation experience, his practice focuses on insurance coverage, bad faith, class action litigation, and appellate review.In addition to representing insurance companies, Mr. Golub’s clients have included insurance agents, brokers and insurance trade associations. He regularly defends against lawsuits brought under California’s Unfair Competition Law and the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.

Mr. Golub is admitted to practice before all California state courts, as well as before the United States Supreme Court, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and the United States District Court for the Central, Eastern, Southern and Northern Districts of California and the District of Arizona.  He has received a Martindale-Hubbell® AV Preeminent peer rating.

Cecilia O’Connell Miller, Esq.
Shareholder
Buchalter

Cecilia O’Connell Miller is a Shareholder in Buchalter’s San Diego Office. She is Co-Chair of the Insurance Law practice group and a Member of the Firm’s Board of Directors. Ms. Miller’s practice encompasses trial and appellate representation of her policyholder clients in arbitrations, state courts and federal courts across the country. Her practice focuses on complex commercial litigation and pre-litigation counseling with an emphasis on insurance coverage recovery for policyholders under numerous lines of coverage including commercial general liability, D&O, employment practices liability, pollution legal liability, first party property (including business interruption), tax liability, life insurance, AD&D, LTD, and representation and warranty insurance. Ms. Miller also regularly represents clients in securing coverage under Memoranda of Coverage issued by Joint Powers Authorities as well as prosecuting claims against insurance brokers.

Ms. Miller has extensive experience advising clients from a variety of industries, including technology, financial services, hospitality, multi-media, retail, health care, manufacturing, construction, gaming, charter schools, and municipalities, for whom she has successfully obtained millions in insurance coverage for first and third party liabilities.

Jennifer Yu Sacro, Esq.
Partner
Sacro & Walker LLP

 Jennifer Yu Sacro’s practice focuses on general and complex litigation in state and federal courts.  She has broad-based experience representing businesses and individuals in litigation arising out of commercial contracts, insurance coverage and related bad faith claims, employment relationships, commercial real estate transactions, unfair competition and business practices, and class actions. Her clients have included businesses in the insurance, real estate, food and beverage, franchise, healthcare and entertainment industries. She is frequently engaged to serve as lead counsel for major insurers in complex, multi-party coverage litigation throughout the country.  Ms. Sacro also is experienced in corporate law, having advised corporations, partnerships and limited liability companies on corporate governance matters.

Ms. Sacro is admitted to practice before all California state courts, as well as before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and the United States District Court for the Central, Eastern and Northern Districts of California.  She has received a Martindale-Hubbell® AV Preeminent peer rating and is licensed by the California Department of Real Estate as a broker.

Susan P. White, Esq.
Special Counsel
Buchalter

Susan White is an experienced commercial litigation attorney with a specialty in insurance recovery.  Ms. White represents corporate and individual policyholders and has recovered millions in insurance proceeds on their behalf in all types of complex litigation against their insurers.  She is able to think out of the box, using creative and strategic approaches to both find and maximize insurance coverage for her policyholder clients.

Throughout her 30 years of practice, she regularly has represented a wide variety of clients on numerous insurance coverage issues and has resolved complex insurance matters through settlement, arbitration or trial.  Ms. White has extensive experience with complex insurance matters. 

Ms. White counsels clients operating in a wide range of industries, including healthcare, pharmaceutical, retail, manufacturing, telecommunications, software and Internet technology, financial services, entertainment, and real estate.

Acting as insurance coverage counsel, Ms. White also represents companies in bankruptcy and advises trustees for bankrupt estates in connection with the recovery of insurance assets for the estate. She also provides risk management guidance to clients to maximize the coverage provided by insurance policies. Additionally, Ms. White speaks regularly on various insurance coverage issues.

Additional Faculty to be Announced Soon

Fees

Choose OnDemand Streaming or Recorded Packages in Download or DVD format
For this seminar, you can order just one day – Part 1 or Part 2, or the entire program

Full Two-Part Program:

OnDemand Streaming:  $429
Your OnDemand access is good for up to one-year from the time of purchase.  Please be sure to select OnDemand Streaming to the right and check out.  OnDemand can be watched from any type of device.

Alternatively, you can order a Recorded Package in Download or DVD** formats as follows:

Video (with sound)* Recording & Materials Package (DVD or Download): $429
Audio Only* (for in your car, etc.) Recording & Materials Package – CD or Download:  $429
Order both the Video* and Audio Only* Packages for only $50 more – DVD or Download:  $479

Ordering One Part only (be sure to select either Part 1 or Part 2 at check out):

OnDemand Streaming:  $214.50
Your OnDemand access is good for up to one-year from the time of purchase.  Please be sure to select OnDemand Streaming to the right and check out.  OnDemand can be watched from any type of device.

Alternatively, you can order a Recorded Package in Download or DVD** formats as follows:

Video (with sound)* Recording & Materials Package (DVD or Download): $214.50
Audio Only* Recording & Materials Package – CD or Download:  $214.50
Order both the Video* and Audio Only* Packages for only $25 more – DVD or Download:  $239.5

** CD/DVD orders will be charged $8.50 shipping.

This program will be recorded live on April 16 and April 18, 2024. Because we record our seminars live and they are edited, OnDemand Streaming and Recorded Packages are available approximately two to three weeks after the seminar is held.)

*The Video recording is a video of the webinar (with sound). The Audio Only recording are audio files only and are for those who wish to listen to it without watching a video (such as in the car or while walking).

Note: OnDemand Streaming can be watched from any device. However, all download packages must be downloaded to a computer first, before transferring them to another device due to downloading as zip files containing both the video/audio and a large folder with seminar materials contained in the download package.

CLE Credit

CA General:  This program is approved for 6.50 units of general CLE in California.

NY General: This course is approved for CLE, under New York’s CLE Approved Jurisdiction policy, for 6.50 CLE units. Pincus Professional Education is a CA Accredited Provider, which is a NY approved jurisdiction. See Section 6 of the New York State CLE Board Regulations and Guidelines for further information.

This program is approved for CLE in the states listed above.  Upon request, Pincus Pro Ed will provide any information an attorney needs to support their application for CLE approval in other states other than what is listed above. Many attorneys ask for this and are approved in other states.