Bob SiemsAug 10, 20154 minThe 27-1001 Appeals Process (in relatively plainer English than prior descriptions)Reviewing our statistics, the most trafficked post on the blog was about the appeals process for bad faith actions and Thompson v. State. That was also one of the earliest post we’ve written. Rereading it, it’s bad blog writing. It’s unclear, assumes a great deal of familiarity with the rules, and it fails to translate dense legal writing into readable prose. It also fails to do a good job at answering what we suspect most people are interested in —how to get their §27-1001 a
Bob SiemsMar 16, 20151 minMore on People's Insurance Counsel v. State FarmI'm not the only person who thinks the cert improvidently granted was a bad way to dispose of People's Insurance Counsel v. State Farm. Here's another blogger (one of many I suspect, although I haven't surveyed the field) with essentially the same opinion. Someday, I'm sure, we'll get an explanation for why People's Insurance Counsel v. State Farm was not cool enough to merit an opinion. But I'll venture a guess. Maybe the Court realized it was not going to change its precede
Bob SiemsMar 3, 20151 minPeople's Ins. Counsel Div. v. State Farm Fire & Cas. Ins. Co., 214 Md.App. 438, 76 A.3d 517 The Court of Appeals recently didn't decide whether Maryland should become a "reasonable expectations" state. It instead denied the appeal as certiorari improvidently granted. People's Ins. Counsel Div. v. State Farm Fire & Cas. Ins. Co., 214 Md.App. 438, 76 A.3d 517 (Md. App., 2013) (cert granted, but then dismissed as improvidently granted) I watched the appellate arguments shortly before the denial came down because I had free time on a snow day. Based on the arguments, I
Bob SiemsJan 13, 20152 min2014 Annual Bad Faith Report: Actual Bad Faith Plaintiffs opted for OAH over Circuit Court 8:1.The MIA has published its 2014 Report on the bad faith statute. There were some little stuff. Fourteen cases were dismissed for failing to meet the statutory requirements. Dismissals like this disappeared after 2010 (and 2010 only had 1 compared to 14 in 2009). I am sure there's a good reason why they suddenly came back on this scale. I just don't know it yet. Otherwise, the odds of a merits decision of the remaining cases are basically constant. Insureds had 3 wins, 13 losse
Bob SiemsNov 3, 20142 minWhy Doesn’t Every MIA Opinion Get AppealedThe Maryland Insurance Administration (“MIA”) hearing should be a speed bump on Plaintiff’s road to a jury trial in the Circuit Court. (This is certainly a fair summary of Miller and Zois’ take.) Insureds rarely win before the MIA. But Circuit Court juries should be far more sympathetic than the MIA. If for no other reason, juries have been known to decide cases based on sympathy and to dislike insurance companies. Plaintiffs should therefore file their claims intending to wi
Bob SiemsOct 24, 20143 minWhy Does Anybody Appeal Maryland Insurance Administration Bad Faith Cases To The Office of AdministrAlthough Md. Code Insurance 27-1001(g) allows a party to appeal to the Office of Administrative Hearings instead of the Circuit Court, there is no apparent reason for Plaintiff to do so. There are two problems for insureds with OAH appeals. First, they are themselves appealable de novo to circuit court so it is hard to see how they were worth the legal fees. Second, Plaintiffs should always opt for a jury trial and almost always don't get everything they ask for and should th
Bob SiemsSep 19, 20142 minAppealing MIA Decisions: Reading the 27-1001 Appeal Provision In Light of Thompson v. State FarmYou’re Plaintiff. You lost before the MIA. (That’s just statistics. Plaintiffs almost always lose before the MIA.) Now what? You read the Bad Faith statue. It has an appeal provision allowing de novo judicial review or OAH review using Md. Code Ann., Insurance § 2-215, the Insurance Code’s appeal process section, and MD Code, State Government, § 10-222, the Administrative Procedures Act’s judicial review provision. Md. Code Ann., Insurance §27-1001(g). The Insurance Code’s ap
