Bad Faith Litigation: Insurer's Discovery of Plaintiff's Privileged Information

This CLE webinar will discuss strategies for discovering policyholders' communications with their legal counsel, including counsel's work product. The program will review which states have weakened or destroyed insurers' testimonial and work product privileges, the severe consequences of treating coverage counsel like a claims adjuster, and why courts deconstruct privilege. The panel will offer guidance on leveraging the same principles to access the same privileged information from the insured.

With increasing frequency, courts in bad faith litigation are refusing to apply the attorney-client privilege and work product protection to the communications and opinions of the insurer's coverage counsel on grounds that coverage counsel is investigating, evaluating, or assisting the claims adjusting process. If the insurer relies on the coverage opinion to deny a claim, then courts may rule that those opinions and papers have been issued.

These same principles and logic may offer insurers the same opportunities to obtain policyholders' privileged information regarding the same topics of investigation and evaluation of underlying claims and defenses.

Listen as this innovative and experienced panel of esteemed insurer counsel reviews the state of the law across the nation and offers a potential roadmap for getting the same kind of privileged information from policyholders.