Background
When a new general counsel joined a leading life, health and disability insurance company, more than 100 coverage dispute files were in disarray. Without a deep in-house legal staff to assist, the general counsel’s review of the files identified serious issues: many legitimate defenses had not been asserted, judgments had been entered against the company on some cases and allegations of bad faith had been put forth.
Freeborn’s Involvement
Knowing Freeborn’s work from other cases, the general counsel turned to the Firm for assistance, understanding that we could ‘hit the ground running.' Our team quickly learned the insurance issues, immediately mobilized and spent 12 hours for three consecutive days reviewing the individual files. We then created an overall strategy document, individual case budgets and timelines for resolution.
Results
Throughout the next year and a half, the Freeborn team traversed the country, assisting the company with counseling, mediations, negotiations, depositions, case management and often hand-holding with key, deposed executives. Of the eight files with reported judgments, we secured four post-judgment vacations; of the remaining four post-judgment files, we negotiated favorable settlements. Where practical, we asserted new defenses in some cases, leading to their positive resolutions. All claims of punitive damages against the company were dismissed. As a result of Freeborn’s work and case management, the general counsel had time to add staff to the department and begin a tenure with positive case outcomes.
