Anderson Kill reposted this
Insurance companies often have attorneys act as adjusters on claims, and there is case law across the country on how that impacts discovery where those claims get litigated. The Colorado Supreme Court recently declined an insurance company’s attempt to roll back established law holding that no privilege applies to attorneys acting as claims handlers in connection with the investigation or adjustment of insurance claims. The insurance company had seized on a short order allowing discovery into communications with an expert consultant and argued that the ruling improperly invaded the attorney client privilege. They cited to an alleged “crisis” regarding privilege rulings in Colorado and tried to prevent policyholders from discovering communications and actions by attorneys acting in the capacity of claims handlers. After the trial court admitted that its order was inartfully worded, the Colorado Supreme Court remanded the case without revisiting existing precedent, consistent with the law in other states nationwide, holding that no privilege applies when attorneys act as claims handlers. United Policyholders (UP) weighed in as a friend of the court, thanks to pro bono work by Marshall Gilinsky and Carrie Maylor DiCanio with Anderson Kill and John Ellison and Luke Debevec with Reed Smith LLP. We are grateful for their collaboration on an excellent Amicus Brief focused on protecting policyholder rights in Colorado and beyond. #advocacyandaction #uphelp #amicuscuriae #discovery #attorneyclientprivilege #attorneyworkproductprivilege