Falling for Justice – Session 3: Failure to Defend
This session will describe a case study of how a default judgment led to an actual insurance bad faith failure-to-defend claim and two related legal malpractice claims. Attendees will gain insight into how the relative legal roles and responsibilities of insurer, insured, plaintiff’s counsel, insurance defense counsel, and independent counsel are affected by Washington case law and insurance policy language. Evidentiary and procedural issues related to dispositive motions will also be identified.
Dan Laurence is a partner at Stritmatter Kessler Koehler Moore. His practice over the last 35 years has focused on litigating catastrophic injury cases in aviation, other product liability, and medical malpractice cases, including insurance coverage and bad faith. After graduating law school, Dan served as a law clerk in the U.S. district and appeal courts. Over the last 20 years, he has brought this broad perspective to bear on behalf of plaintiffs, achieving multi-million dollar recoveries.