Cronauer Law recently recovered an additional $950,000 above insurance policy limits paid in a post-judgment resolution after an insurance company repeatedly refused to settle a claim, failed to promptly pay a verdict, and continued delaying payment even after appellate review affirmed the verdict.
This result underscores a fundamental reality of insurance litigation: when insurers fail to act reasonably, they often end up paying substantially more than if they had resolved the claim or paid the limits when they are requested by competent trial lawyers like Cronauer Law, LLP.
A Case That Should Have Resolved Long Before Trial
The claimant made multiple early attempts to resolve the case for an amount within the insurance policy limits in effect. Each offer was rejected. Despite clear evidence supporting liability, the insurer issued a denial and refused to tender its limits.
As litigation continued, additional settlement opportunities were extended—again for the full policy limits. Each was declined.
Jury Verdict, Appeal, and Continued Delay
A jury ultimately returned a multi-million-dollar verdict above the insurance policy limits in effect. Rather than paying the full amount owed, the insurer tendered the limits taken by the judgment and chose to pursue an appeal.
The verdict was affirmed on appeal. Even then, the insurer failed to timely satisfy the remaining balance, requiring Cronauer Law, LLP to then pursue a new case for the balance due under bad faith insurance law.
This type of conduct is precisely what gives rise to bad faith exposure.
The Bad Faith Action
After the insurer refused to settle when it should have and failed to fully pay a final judgment, a bad faith action was filed. The case alleged a pattern of unreasonable claims handling, ignored evidence, and decisions that exposed the insured to unnecessary financial risk.
In response, the insurer attempted to deflect responsibility away from its own claims decisions.
Mediation and multi-million Dollar Total Recovery
Following mediation of the insurance handling claim, the parties reached a global resolution resulting in total multi-million dollar recovery across 2 lawsuits and one appeal. This outcome brought the claimant an amount that should have been paid but for the insurance company defiance.
What This Means for Policyholders
This case illustrates what can happen when an insurance company:
- refuses to settle reasonable claims
- ignores clear evidence of liability
- delays or avoids paying a final judgment
- places its insured at unnecessary financial risk
When insurers act unreasonably, they can be held accountable through verdicts, appeals, and bad faith litigation—and they often pay far more than if they had acted responsibly from the outset.
Cronauer Law remained committed at every stage of this matter and will tenaciously pursue claims even if the insurance claims there is no coverage. This additional recovery reflects the firm’s dedication to holding insurance companies accountable when they fail to do what now only the the law requires, but good faith corporate governance.
Cronauer Law — Real Attorneys. Record Results.