Bad Faith Blog

Summary: Gary Coker was injured in a car accident after a vehicle driven by Donald Woodall crossed the center line and hit Coker head-on. Coker was driving a vehicle owned by his employer, Ansco & Associates. After filing suit against Woodall, Coker obtained a $5.5 million consent judgment. However, Woodall’s automotive insurance policy provided limits of only $25,000. Under Georgia law, which controlled in this case, Woodall qualified as an underinsured motorist due to his low policy limits.

In Scottsdale Ins. Co., et al. v. Addison Ins. Co., et al., No. WD75963 (Mo.App.W.D. Oct. 1, 2013), a “case of first impression,” the Missouri Court of Appeals both redefined the elements of a third-party bad faith failure to settle claim and recognized for the first time an excess carrier’s right to pursue a primary carrier under a theory of equitable subrogation to recover for a primary insurer’s bad faith failure to settle.