Personal Injury Lawyer Blog
(Please note: the names and locations of all parties have been changed to protect the confidentiality of the proceedings.)
B. Joint Offer from All Plaintiffs
On September 15, 2007, all three plaintiffs in this action joined in renewing a policy limit offer to settle the entire case. A copy of that offer states the following:
“As you know, your clients have been sued for compensation and punitive damages following a drunken driving crash caused by Mr. Brown. His parents were sued for negligent entrustment. The plaintiffs have suffered serious injuries including brain damage and fractures requiring hospitalization. Please see plaintiffs’ Mediation Briefs for a further description of their injuries and economic damages.
All three plaintiffs in this case, by and through their respective attorneys, previously offered to jointly accept payment of the Defendants’ full policy limits of coverage (two policies totaling $1,500,000.00) in settlement of this case.
Please allow this letter to again alert you, Allstate Insurance, and the defendants’ insurance adjustors that plaintiffs’ combined global settlement offer is again offered by all three plaintiffs, by and through their respective counsel, and is available to provide all three of your clients with a complete and full release of all claims against them. In addition, the plaintiffs will extinguish all liens.
Stated another way, if Allstate Insurance Company agrees to pay to the injured plaintiffs the limits of the insurance coverage previously purchased by the Brown family from Allstate, then the Brown family (Chris, Mary and Paul) will be forever finished with the litigation and will be fully released from any further claim for compensatory and/or punitive damages. The case will be over.
The only responsible course of action is for Allstate to protect the Brown family and end this litigation by paying the Brown’s policy limits to the injured plaintiffs.
As you are aware, if this case is not settled and punitive damages are awarded against any of the Brown family, these damages must be paid personally by the members of the Brown family. At present, it is probable that punitive damages will be awarded against one or more members of the Brown family. With this in mind I request that you give a copy of this settlement offer to your clients so that in the event that Allstate refuses to accept plaintiffs’ offer, the Brown family can take whatever steps as may be available to protect themselves from financial ruin.
This joint offer of settlement by all three plaintiffs to end this litigation will automatically terminate and expire on October 3, 2007, at 4:30 p.m. if not accepted by Allstate Insurance.”
For more information you are welcome to contact Sacramento personal injury lawyer, Moseley Collins.