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Defending Uncooperative or Missing Insureds: Avoiding Ethical Pitfalls and Protecting the Client's Interests

Offering 30 Minutes of Ethics Credit

Recording of a 90-minute CLE video webinar with Q&A

This program is included with the Strafford CLE Pass. Click for more information.
This program is included with the Strafford All-Access Pass. Click for more information.

Conducted on Thursday, September 26, 2024

Recorded event now available

or call 1-800-926-7926

This CLE webinar will offer guidance to insurance defense counsel in two increasingly common situations: when the insured is uncooperative but the case must be defended and when the insured may be missing and unlocatable. The panel will discuss how and why these situations arise, the tell-tale signs that something could be amiss, ethical pitfalls, strategies appropriate for each phase of the matter, and practical tips for protecting the attorney placed in a tenuous position.

Description

An insured can become uncooperative for many reasons, for example, if they have admitted liability and see no reason to participate in the defense. An insured might participate in the defense but refuse to consent to settle or have a mindset that makes cooperation difficult or impossible. Invoking breach of the duty to cooperate as grounds to deny coverage can be easier said than done, especially in a jurisdiction where the insurer must prove prejudice. Often the only way forward is through, and defense counsel must have a strategy for defending its case without the cooperation of the insured.

At the other end of the spectrum are insureds who go missing or cannot be contacted. Statutory schemes that allow service on insureds to be perfected by service on the insurer can create a quagmire. Different responses may be required depending on when in the course of representation the "client" insured disappears or goes missing. This situation raises a host of ethical issues regarding communications with the client and consent to settle. Counsel need to have a system in place for not only carrying out but documenting their due diligence in trying to contact the insured.

Listen as this panel of seasoned insurance practitioners discusses best practices and strategies when the insured is uncooperative and when the insured may be missing.

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Outline

  1. Uncooperative insureds
    1. Defending the case without the insured
    2. Discovery strategies
    3. Additional insureds and the right to settle
    4. Trial strategies
  2. Missing insureds
    1. Relevant Model Rules of Professional Responsibility
    2. Withdrawal and its consequences
    3. Practical systems to protect the attorney, the missing insured, and the insurance company

Benefits

The panel will discuss these and other important issues:

  • What is non-cooperation and why would a defendant refuse to assist counsel?
  • What special concerns and complexities arise when a named insured disappears leaving an additional insured to defend the claim?
  • What system should insurance defense counsel have in place for these types of situations?

Faculty

Frantz, Amy
Amy E. Frantz

Partner
Freeman Mathis & Gary

Ms. Frantz is a Partner at Freeman Mathis & Gary's Chicago office and is Vice-Chair of the...  |  Read More

Nicol, Majorie
Majorie Nicol

Partner
Shackelford, McKinley & Norton

Ms. Nicol is a respected insurance coverage litigator, representing first and third-party insurers across a wide range...  |  Read More

Access Anytime, Anywhere

Strafford will process CLE credit for one person on each recording. All formats include course handouts.

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