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Course Details

Course Information
  • smart_display Format

    On-Demand

  • signal_cellular_alt Difficulty Level

    Intermediate

  • work Practice Area

    Insurance

Date & Time
  • event Date

    Thursday, November 21, 2024

  • schedule Time

    1:00 p.m. ET./10:00 a.m. PT

  • timer Program Length

    90 minutes

Credit Information

  • This 90-minute webinar is eligible in most states for 1.5 CLE credits.

$297.00
CLE
ALL

This CLE webinar will discuss why the appraisal remedy in insurance policies may not be the straightforward solution it appears to be on paper, the grounds for vacating appraisal awards, and why it may simply be a prelude to litigation over appraiser impartiality.

Faculty

Gina Clausen Lozier
Partner
Clausen Choquette Law, PLLC

Ms. Clausen Lozier is a founding partner of Clausen Choquette PLLC and focuses her practice on first and third-party claims and coverage analysis. She is one of only three lawyers in Florida recognized in the prestigious legal publication Chambers for her work on policyholders’ behalf. Ms. Lozier dedicates her practice to representing commercial policyholders.

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Illon R. Kantro
Partner
Berk Merchant & Sims, PLC

Mr. Kantro is a partner at Berk, Merchant & Sims. He received his Bachelor of Science from The American University, in Washington, D.C., and his Juris Doctor from The University of Miami School of Law, in Coral Gables, FL. Mr. Kantro has spent the last fifteen years assisting foreign and domestic insurers with matters of first and third party insurance coverage.

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Justin Whedbee
Chief Executive Officer, Co-Founder
MAS Solutions

Mr. Whedbee is an insurance professional with more than twenty-five years of experience in all lines of claims. He is skilled in negotiations and creating effective processes for improving claims resolution, as well as an accomplished public speaker, specifically geared to teaching. 

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Vincent Circelli
Partner
Dugas & Circelli, PLLC

Mr. Circelli represents plaintiffs and defendants in all aspects of litigation and trial practice. He has obtained millions in verdicts in federal and state courts and arbitration panels. Mr. Circelli started his career at the international law firm Haynes and Boone and has argued before the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, numerous state appellate courts, and is licensed to practice before the United States Supreme Court. He is licensed in Texas, New Mexico and New York. Mr. Circelli was named the Outstanding Young Lawyer by the Tarrant County Young Lawyers Association, is a Life Member of the Texas Bar Foundation, and has been recognized as Thompson Reuters’ Texas Rising Star published by Texas Monthly Magazine (2013-present) and as a Top Attorney in Civil Litigation by Fort Worth Magazine (2010-present).

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Description

The linchpin of the appraisal remedy is trust. The parties agree in the policy to accept the final award because on paper the appraisers and umpires who decide the awards are supposed to be competent, objective, independent, and disinterested professionals who owe nothing to either party and because they follow reliable processes.

Apparently, fewer and fewer policyholders and insurers are satisfied with or willing to trust this process. Lawsuits seeking to vacate awards are increasing even as the remedy is being invoked more often in ordinary cases as well as in complex, multi-cause events involving covered and uncovered claims where causation, loss amount, and the extent of the loss are all intertwined.

Courts will set aside awards, as a rule, only if they were made without authority; resulted from fraud, mistake, or accident; or were not rendered in compliance with the policy. Awards will be set aside on the basis of undue influence, which can take many forms. One area of concern is the increasing prevalence of insurer guidelines and restrictions on appraisers and umpires that allegedly impair their independence.

Listen as this experienced panel offers insight into why what was once a dependable dispute-resolution mechanism is possibly a trap for the unwary and offers guidance for recognizing undue influence or missteps so that counsel can intelligently challenge or defend the final award.

Outline

  1. Overview of appraisal remedy
    1. Demanding an appraisal: how and when (and when not)
    2. Choosing an appraiser and documenting the agreement to appraise
    3. Selecting an umpire
    4. Defining the scope of the appraisal
    5. Reporting the appraisal
  2. Enforcing or challenging the appraisal
    1. Timing
    2. Grounds for vacating award
      1. Without authority
      2. Fraud, mistake, accident
      3. Not rendered in compliance with the policy
      4. Proving undue influence, bias, prejudice, interference with process
    3. Correcting errors
  3. Binding effect of appraisal
  4. Remedies if appraisal is vacated

Benefits

The panel will review these and other important issues:

  • What kind of disclosures can or should be required from appraisers or umpires to fully disclose possible conflicts or impartiality?
  • How are mixed questions of causation, loss amount, and the extent of the loss decided?
  • Does payment of the appraisal amount extinguish extra-contractual claims?
  • Does coverage have to be resolved before an appraisal?