"Whose Party Is It? What Claims Professionals Should Know About Non-Party Discovery Served Directly to Insurers"

For the July 2022 issue of Claims Magazine, published by the Claims and Litigation Management Alliance (CLM), Kelly Chartash and Lauren Meadows authored an article offering insight on what claims professionals should know about non-party discovery served directly to insurers.

“In recent years, plaintiffs’ attorneys have begun serving non-party discovery directly to insurance companies as a matter of common practice,” Chartash and Meadows explained. “Requests can range from broad and expansive (any and all documents contained in the claims file), to case-specific (identification of all times an insurer has retained a specific expert and the amounts paid to that expert), to policy driven (any and all policies, procedures, protocols, or rules regarding claims investigations).”

Failure to respond or timely object to these requests can result in problematic sanctions, such as an order to produce all responsive documents without respect to privilege. To help curb this risk, Chartash and Meadows offered five important steps, including:

1: Retain Separate Counsel
2: Know Your Deadlines
3: Know What Is Privileged
4: Be Specific with Your Objections
5: Be Consistent

For the full article and detailed tips for each step, please click here.