At Fowler Bell PLLC, we do not expect our clients to stay abreast of all of the statutory and case law changes in Kentucky that could affect their businesses. In fact, we expect the opposite -- that they are too busy focused on providing insurance services to their own clients to bother with subtle alterations in the state's legal system.
Unfortunately, we are familiar with some cases in which this focus could have led to a legal encounter with a policyholder. The causes have changed throughout the years, but there is one recent development that could concern many insurers in the state, so much so that it could dictate internal policy on handling claims.
Many of our clients saw a recent rule in Kentucky as a boon: specifically, the law that required claimants to back emotional distress damage requests with expert witness testimony. We are somewhat reluctant to announce that this enthusiasm may have been premature, as the state's highest court drastically limited the rule by issuing a decision favoring a claimant in a bad-faith case.
The holding of the court in the case in question, Indiana Insurance Company v. James Demetre, was restrictive in terms of the scope of the original law. Whereas the rule held that the court would require expert testimony, the new decision would limit that requirement to two specific situations:
- Negligence that led to emotional distress
- Intentional infliction of the emotional injury
Some of the details of the Demetre case could also influence the way insurers in the state should handle bad-faith claims in general.
Regardless of the way the law might change, we remain proud to advise, represent and defend our clients to help prevent incidents, mitigate potential loss situations and argue against those who would bring their exorbitant claims to court. Please read more on our main site.
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