Insurance Series for Lawyers: 3 Levels of Damages In Bad Faith Cases

Are you a lawyer who encounters insurance issues in mediation from time to time, but not an everyday insurance lawyer? If you aren’t an everyday insurance lawyer, it can be tempting in mediation to just jump right away to talking about bad faith damages only to have the insurance company’s attorney respond with, “Why is this other attorney just talking about all these bad faith damages, but they’re not claiming that we didn’t pay them everything that was owed?” In this episode, host Jean Lawler–commercial + insurance mediator and arbitrator–draws from her deep knowledge of the insurance industry, insurance policies and the various risks they insure against to discuss the three levels of damages in bad faith cases: contractual damages, extra-contractual damages, and punitive damages.

To read the full episode transcript please see the Podcast Website.

About the Host:

Based in Los Angeles, CA, Jean Lawler is an attorney and mediator, focusing on commercial, insurance and civil litigation matters pending at the trial and appellate levels - wherever filed. She regularly mediates a wide variety of insurance, business, and tort matters, as well as federal ADA accessibility lawsuits re architectural barriers and websites. CIPP/US (Certified Information Privacy Professional) certified, Jean also mediates matters involving data breaches, ransomware, and cyber losses. She has mediated hundreds upon hundreds - thousands - of cases over the years with a myriad of issues. For a more detailed sampling of the types of mediations that she has conducted and participated in, both when in practice and as a full-time mediator, please refer to her web page detailing Representative Matters.

Prior to becoming a full-time mediator in 2017, Jean was a Senior Partner in a Los Angeles based litigation firm, representing corporations, professionals, non-profits, individuals, and insurers in a broad range of matters, at trial and on appeal - mediating hundreds upon hundreds of cases over the years. Her legal experience has been diverse and international, and she has a deep knowledge of the insurance industry, insurance policies and the various risks they insure against (primary, excess, reinsurance, program, surplus lines, London Market, and international insurers). She also served as a Managing Partner of her former law firm, at times chairing the firm’s Insurance Law, Cyber & Privacy Law, International Law, and Business & Real Estate Transactions practice groups and, ultimately, served her many clients as counselor and trusted advisor.

As she would tell you if asked: “I absolutely love what I do! I would be honored to serve as your Mediator or Arbitrator.”

Connect with Jean:

Thanks for listening to this podcast episode! Want to connect or view more content from Jean?

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jean-lawler

Email: [email protected]

Website: https://www.lawleradr.com/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAqdssKuahXFmhvOlxaIcVQ/featured

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