CSK Defense
Jacksonville Partner Joseph Kissane
Case Summary
This lawsuit arose from a dispute over the handling of a medical malpractice insurance claim. The Plaintiff alleged that the Defendant, a medical malpractice insurer represented by CSK, failed to act in good faith when attempting to effectuate a settlement for its insureds.
According to the court’s order, the physician and the physician’s professional association shared a $250,000 malpractice insurance policy. After receiving notice of the claim, the Defendant insurer timely tendered the full liability limits under the policy in exchange for a release of its insureds.
The underlying claimants rejected the offer and later proposed settling only with the professional association. That proposal would have left the physician personally responsible for any remaining damages. The Defendant and insureds declined this proposal, and the Plaintiff later filed a bad faith lawsuit challenging the insurer’s attempts to settle.
Defense Strategy
Mr. Kissane argued that the Defendant was protected by a Florida law that limits an insurer’s exposure to bad faith liability when it timely tenders the available liability limits under a medical malpractice policy during the statutory safe harbor.
He maintained that the Defendant had satisfied those requirements by offering the full $250,000 policy limit within the allotted statutory timeframe. The Plaintiff’s argument that the Defendant should have settled on behalf of only one insured, while leaving the other personally exposed, did not eliminate the protection provided by the statute and was opposed by the insured physician.
Outcome
The court agreed with the Defendant and found that it had timely tendered the full policy limits as required by Florida law. The court therefore concluded that the Defendant was protected from the Plaintiff’s bad faith claim.
The court granted the Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment and denied the Plaintiff’s competing Motion for Summary Judgment. The Plaintiff later asked the court to reconsider or clarify its decision, the court denied that request, leaving the summary judgment ruling in place.
The decision illustrates the protections available to medical malpractice insurers that timely tender their full policy limits within Florida’s statutory safe harbor period.
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