Lawyer   Don't Lie To a Claimant

In John Norman Shafer v. Berger, Kahn, Shafton, Moss, et al, 107 Cal.App.4th 54, 131 Cal.Rptr.2d 777 (Cal.App. Dist.2 03/18/2003) http://www.metnews.com/sos.cgi?0303%2FB151730 the Court of Appeal of the State of California found it appropriate to sue a lawyer for fraud when he lied to a person who had a judgment against a person insured about the amount of coverage available to the insured.

 

Coverage counsel should advise the insurer of its duties and obligations under the policy and the law, not on how to avoid those duties. Further, coverage counsel and the insurers represented should always fairly, honestly and thoroughly report the coverages available.

 

Although a lawyer, negotiating on behalf of a client, might be tempted to misrepresent material facts, to do so is fraught with peril.

 

The Shafer case was decided on pleadings where the court was compelled to assume the facts pleaded were true. If true, the lawyer was wrong, if not true, the suit and appeal were a waste of the court’s time.

 

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