David Swerdlow, a partner at Windels Marx, was the featured speaker during the New Jersey Civil Justice Institute’s September 11, 2014 teleforum on two insurance law cases the New Jersey Supreme Court held oral arguments on earlier this week. During the call, Swerdlow, who authored NJCJI’s amicus brief in one of the cases, explained that the court could use these cases as an opportunity to dramatically reshape the state’s “bad faith” insurance law.

 

 

Wadeer v. New Jersey Manufacturers Insurance Co. and Badiali v. New Jersey Manufacturers Insurance Co. were both argued on September 9. Swerdlow provided an overview of the two cases, a summary of where the law stands now, and a discussion of the questions it appears the court will answer when it decides the cases:

 

  • When does a bad faith claim accrue?
  • When is an insured able to raise a bad faith claim?
  • What sort of notice is required?
  • What is the standard for bad faith going forward?
  • Will the court keep the fairly debatable standard or move toward something different?
  • Will the court amend existing court rules to allow for fee shifting in first party insurance coverage cases?

 

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