Claims adjusters employed by Insurance Companies in Florida have always been like everybody else in that they are "susceptible to direct and individual liability for an intentional tort, including a fraud." Leonhardt v. GEICO Casualty Co., 2011 WL 5359840 *2 (M.D. Fla. October 28, 2011), Download Leonhardt v. GEICO Casualty Co. (M.D. Fla. October 28, 2011) PUBLIC ACCESS.
However, in that case the Federal District Judge held that joinder of a Florida claims adjuster in a Bad Faith case filed against the adjuster and the Insurance Company she works for, totally defeated Federal diversity jurisdiction.
The case involves alleged Bad Faith claims handling. The Plaintiff alleged that the individual claims adjuster intentionally misrepresented "the amount of the available insurance coverage for a covered claim against the insured," among other things. Id. at *3. These claims defeated diversity of citizenship jurisdiction in Federal District Court and required remand to the Florida State Court for determination of the entire Bad Faith case.
To put the holding in this case another way, the Federal Court decided that the Insurance Company did not demonstrate "clearly and convincingly that [the Plaintiff] cannot possibly succeed" on his claims against the adjuster. Id. at *1.
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