N.J. Law Journal reports:
Lawyers asked the state Supreme Court on Tuesday to decide whether juries, rather than judges, should decide if insurance carriers have acted in bad faith under the Rova Farms doctrine. The question in Wood v. New Jersey Manufacturers Ins. Co., A-44-10, is whether a bad-faith claim is in the nature of breach of fiduciary duty — which rings in equity bench-trial jurisprudence — or more akin to a claim of professional liability. Lawyers for the plaintiff and the New Jersey Association for Justice say judges should make the call, while lawyers for NJM and amicus insurance industry groups say cases should go to juries in separate trials.
Update
NJ Supreme Court subsequently decided that Rova Farms cases were triable by a jury. See “Rova Farms cases Triable by Jury”. “
Great post! It will be interesting to see whether the courts will decide to hand the power of judgment over to the jurors in insurance claim cases. Thanks for sharing.