Elements to Consider for Good Faith Analysis of Settlement Demand

Illinois Court Outlines Elements to Consider for Good Faith Analysis of Settlement Demand   Cozen O’Connor presents the latest edition of the Global Insurance – Bad Faith Alert titled “Illinois Court Outlines Elements to Consider for Good Faith Analysis of Settlement Demand” by Kevin Kamraczewski and Megan E. Whitehill.    To settle or not to settle: that is the question for liability insurers. If you are pondering whether you must accept a plaintiff’s settlement offer, read on. A recent Illinois case, Huang v. Brenson, 7 N.E.3d 729 (Ill. App. Ct. 2014), may shed some light.   Plaintiff John Z. Huang represented Yongping Zhou in a deportation suit. Mid-suit, Zhou terminated the representation and retained another attorney. Throughout the course of the litigation, Zhou hired several more attorneys and ultimately succeeded in vacating his domestic violence conviction after spending two years in an Immigration and Naturalization Service detention center. Zhou then sued Huang for legal malpractice.   The full article presented by Cozen O’Conner can be found here.   Kevin Kamraczewski Member Global Insurance Department (312) 382-3156 kkamraczewski@cozen.com Megan E. Whitehill Associate Litigation Section (212) 453-3721 mwhitehill@cozen.com

Getting "Hammered" In Court

Attached is an interesting court case received by Cozen O’Connor.  The case provides guidance on when an insurer should, in good faith, accept a plaintiff’s settlement offer. The case itself is a bit unusual, but the circumstances could apply to any of our cases. There is no need to accept an unreasonable and/or unsubstantiated offer to settle, but it is always prudent to get advice from your defense counsel before making your final decision. 

 

Contributed by:
Jim Abbott