Strategies, Challenges, and Answers

Nevada Does Not Recognize Third-Party Bad Faith

Greg Gunny claimed that his father Ralph negligently operated his boat and injured him. Greg wasn’t happy with the speed at which his father’s insurance, Allstate, was handling the claim.  Greg Gunny sued Allstate directly for bad faith.In the case of Gunny v. Allstate Ins. Co., 108 Nev. 344, 830 P.2d 1335 (1992) the Nevada Supreme Court addressed the question of whether the third-party son had a cause of action for bad faith directly against his father’s insurance company.  The Nevada … [Read more...]

When An Accident Happens Out Of The State, Which State’s Law Governs?

Tourists love Las Vegas!!!  Many tourists come here to see the hotels, the casinos and the shows.  But after a while the hotels, casinos and shows all start to look alike.  So tourists are known to rent cars and go wandering the Wild West to take in the natural wonders just a few hours from town, including Death Valley in California, the Grand Canyon in Arizona and Zion National Park in Utah.  That’s a lot of travel across many state lines.  So when an accident happens outside of Nevada in a Las … [Read more...]

Can An Injured Plaintiff Sue A Nevada Rental Car Company Along With The Negligent Rental Driver?

A tourist arrives at Las Vegas’ McCarran Airport and rents a car.  On the way to the hotel, the tourist causes an accident and injures a local driver.  The injured driver sues naming both the renter and the rental car company as defendants.  Is this proper?Of course, it depends.  If the rental car company rented the car to someone who was intoxicated or who did not furnish proof of a valid driver’s license, there may be grounds for an independent cause of action against the rental car … [Read more...]

Insured Claimants Have A Private Right Of Action Against An Individual Nevada Licensed Independent Adjuster For A Violation Of The Nevada Unfair Claims Settlement Practices Act

Nevada's Unfair Claims Practices Act (NRS 686A.310(2)) creates a private right of action against an "insurer" for violations of the act.  Adjusters might believe that when Plaintiffs allege Unfair Claims Practice that they can point to the "insurer" as the only party who must answer for their violations.However, independent adjusters would be mistaken in their belief.Nevada Licensed Independent Adjusters are familiar with NRS Chapter 684A.  That is the section of the law that details … [Read more...]

Nevada Follows Bad Faith Standard Enunciated In Anderson v. Continental Ins. Co.

Primarily, courts across the nation have applied two different standards to determine whether an insurance company has acted in bad faith.First is the standard set by the California Supreme Court case of Gruenberg v. Aetna Ins. Co., 9 Cal 3d 566, 510 P.2d 1032 108 Cal. Rptr. 480 (1973).  In Gruenberg, the California Supreme Court found that an insurer breaches the covenant of good faith and fair dealing when it refuses “without proper cause, to compensate its insured for a loss covered by … [Read more...]