Monday, December 28, 2020
The Fifth Circuit recently rebuffed an attempt by Chubb subsidiary Ace American Insurance Co. (“Ace”) to evade liability from its excess insurer, Zurich North America subsidiary American Guarantee & Liability Insurance Co. (“AGLIC”), after Ace unreasonably rejected a settlement offer within its policy limits in violation of its
Stowers duty.
In the underlying lawsuit, Mark Braswell was killed after his road bike collided with a stopped truck, owned by the Brickman Group Ltd., L.L.C (the “Brickman Group”).
Id. at *1. His survivors (his mother, wife, and two children (the “Braswells”)) filed suit against the Brickman Group, who was insured under a primary policy issued by Ace and an excess policy issued by AGLIC. After trial and before the jury reached a verdict, the Braswells’ counsel made two settlement demands.