Luce Forward's Insurance Litigation Practice Group specializes in representing insurance companies and related entities in a variety of matters. These include lawsuits alleging "bad faith" and other claims arising out of first-party and third-party insurance claims, class actions and claims for "unfair competition," and complex coverage disputes. The group represents the nation's largest insurance carriers, and is led by highly respected attorneys who are recognized as leaders in the field of insurance litigation. Our attorneys not only have extensive jury trial experience in both state and federal courts, they also are appellate specialists who have consistently obtained favorable results for our clients in numerous published and unpublished decisions.
The following are examples of issues involved in cases handled by our Insurance Litigation Practice Group:
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Whether an insurer's denial of coverage was proper.
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Whether an insurer promptly and fairly evaluated a first-party property loss.
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Whether an insurer unreasonably failed to settle a third-party liability claim within the policy limits and is liable for an excess judgment.
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Whether an insurer unreasonably failed to settle an uninsured motorist claim until after the claim was arbitrated.
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Whether an insurance sales agent misrepresented the scope of an insurance policy's coverage.
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Whether an insurance company is responsible for a customers property being "underinsured."
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Whether an insurer's conduct constituted "unfair competition" that violated California Business & Professions Code section 17200.
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Whether an insurer's methods of calculating premiums violate its statutory or other obligations.
Representative Matters
Interinsurance Exchange of the Automobile Club v. Superior Court, 148 Cal.App.4th 1218 (2007)
Plaintiff filed a class action alleging that the Auto Club violated Insurance Code section 381(f) because it did not disclose its "fee" for paying its auto policy's annual premium in installments. Plaintiff's attorneys had obtained multi-million dollar judgments in similar claims against other insurers. In a published decision, the California Court of Appeal issued a writ of mandate ordering the trial court to enter summary judgment on behalf of the Auto Club.
Fitzgerald v. Allstate Ins. Co.
The plaintiffs' custom house was completely destroyed in the 2003 Cedar fire. They claimed that their insurance agent had promised them that their policy would provide enough coverage to rebuild their house, but that it cost more than twice what Allstate paid them to rebuild. Plaintiffs sued for fraud, negligence and other claims. We obtained a unanimous jury verdict in favor of Allstate.
Bryan v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Ins. Co.
The plaintiff sued State Farm for malicious prosecution because State Farm's in-house attorney filed a cross-complaint against her in a personal injury case. The court determined that there was no probable cause for the cross-complaint. After a one week trial, we obtained a defense verdict for State Farm.
Aronson v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Ins. Co., 2000 WL 667285 (C.D. Cal. 2000)
The plaintiff brought an insurance bad faith suit against State Farm based on the fact that State Farm refused to offer more than $40,000 to settle an uninsured motorist claim, which turned out to be worth $500,000. We obtained a defense verdict at trial for our State Farm.
Sparer v. Allstate Ins. Co.
Homeowners filed an insurance bad faith lawsuit against Allstate arising out of Allstate's handling of an earthquake claim. The jury awarded Allstate a unanimous defense verdict at trial after the plaintiffs turned down a $250,000 pre-trial settlement offer.
Caserta v. State Farm Fire & Cas. Co.
A naval officer sued State Farm over its handling of a theft claim that appeared to be fraudulent, but which State Farm eventually paid. The plaintiff claimed that State Farm's handling of the claim ruined his career in the Navy and caused him to incur thousands of dollars in attorneys fees in successfully defending against various fraud investigations regarding the theft claim conducted by the District Attorney, the National Insurance Crime Bureau and the Navy. After a five-week jury trial, the jury rendered a defense verdict in favor of State Farm.
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