Bennett Bigelow & Leedom obtains record bad faith settlement
Obtained $12.95 million settlement for bad faith failure to defend against an insurer with policy limits of $1 million. When a construction worker suffered catastrophic injuries in a worksite accident and sued the project's general contractor, the general contractor tendered the defense of the case to the primary insurer of the subcontractor that employed the worker. The primary insurer refused to defend even though the general contractor was listed as an Additional Insured on the subcontractor's general liability policy. Pursuant to a settlement in the underlying case (see Howard v. Royal Specialty Underwriting, Inc., 121 Wn. App. 372, 89 P.3d 265 (2004)), the insurer for the general contractor and the plaintiff brought suit as assignees of the general contractor's bad faith rights against the insurer of the subcontractor, resulting in the record settlement. Bill Leedom and Tim Allen were co-counsel for the plaintiffs.