Insurance Principal Rich McMonigle Comments on 'Bad-Faith Setup' Defense Case for The Legal Intelligencer
Insurance Principal and author of the book, Insurance Bad Faith in Pennsylvania, Richard L. McMonigle, Jr. recently commented on a case for The Legal Intelligencer regarding an alleged "bad faith setup" by a plaintiff in an attempt to garner a punitive damages award.
In commenting on the case in the December 3 article, "Judge Allows Insurer's 'Bad-Faith Setup' Defense," Mr. McMonigle notes:
"I believe somebody representing the plaintiff has an obligation to allow the insurance company a reasonable period of time to assess the facts and applicable law and to do an evaluation of the case before they can respond to a time-limited settlement demand. There certainly have been occasions where a plaintiff's attorney will be unfairly aggressive with the date by which a response is required and that person really has no interest in settling within the policy limits. What they're trying to do is set the liability insurer up for [a] bad faith [claim]."