Death of Defendant Limits Recovery of Damages to Insurance Unless Timely Claim to Estate of Decedent
Barry Zalma
Read the full article at https://lnkd.in/g3cAFY4m and see the full video at https://lnkd.in/g-FVAdA7 and at https://lnkd.in/gvh3PTSc and at https://zalma.com/blog plus more than 4400 posts.
In Maryland, to facilitate the prompt settlement of decedents’ estates, a person must “present” a claim against an estate within six months after the decedent’s death or two months after the personal representative mails or delivers proper notice of the need to file a claim within two months, whichever comes first. Maryland Code § 8-103(a) of the Estates and Trusts Article (“ET”). In general, if a claimant fails to meet those statutory deadlines, the claim is “forever barred.”
In Nicholas Shanefelter v. James Edward Hood, Jr., No. 1913-2021, Court of Special Appeals of Maryland (January 4, 2023) the Court of Appeals resolved the dispute by recognizing that if the decedent had insurance coverage for the claim, the claimant need not present a timely claim against the estate, as long as the claimant files suit against the estate before the applicable statute of limitations has run. In that event, a judgment against the estate is not limited to the amount of insurance coverage, but the amount of the judgment that is recoverable from the estate is limited to the amount of the policy. In essence, the case becomes an action against the insurance policy.
In this case, the Circuit Court for Anne Arundel County employed ET § 8-104(e)(2) to limit the amount recoverable from an estate to the limits of the decedent’s automobile insurance policy.
FACTUAL BACKGROUND
On December 1, 2018, appellant Nicholas Shanefelter was involved in an automobile accident with the late James Hood, Jr. At the time of the accident, State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. insured the car that Hood was driving.
Hood died on August 4, 2019, of causes unrelated to the accident. On September 30, 2019, Hood’s wife opened an estate on his behalf with the Register of Wills for Anne Arundel County.
On February 20, 2020, Shanefelter filed suit against Hood in the Circuit Court for Anne Arundel County. On March 6, 2020, seven months after Hood’s death, Shanefelter filed a claim against Hood’s estate with the Register of Wills for Anne Arundel County. The claim was untimely.
TRIAL COURT VERDICT
After a two-day trial in October 2021, a jury returned a verdict in favor of Shanefelter and against the estate in the amount of $285,977.69. One week after the verdict, the estate filed a motion and asked the court to limit the amount of the judgment that was recoverable from the estate to the policy limits of $100,000.00. The motion did not expressly assert what the record already showed – i.e., that Shanefelter had failed to present a timely claim under ET § 8-103(a). Shanefelter opposed the estate’s motion, arguing that he had filed a claim against the estate “as soon as he was made aware that Defendant had died” and that the decedent’s insurer, State Farm, “had failed to settle the case in good faith.” Shanefelter did not argue that he had presented a timely claim.
The circuit court granted the estate’s motion in a written order that was docketed on December 3, 2021. The order states, in pertinent part, that the estate’s “liability is limited to Defendant’s liability insurance policy of $100,000.”
In a written order the judgment states, in pertinent part, that “the amount of the judgment that is recoverable from the estate is limited to the amount of the decedent’s liability insurance policy of $100,000.”
DISCUSSION
In its brief, the estate refuted Shanefelter’s assertion that he had filed a timely claim within the deadlines dictated by § 8-103(a). Citing the Register of Wills’ docket sheet for Shanefelter’s claim, which it attached as an appendix to its brief, the estate demonstrated that Shanefelter did not file his claim until March 6, 2020, more than seven months after Hood’s death on August 4, 2019.
The Court of Appeal concluded that Shanefelter’s contentions had no merit. The tacit premise of the estate’s motion to limit liability, understood by all, including the circuit court, was that Shanefelter had not presented a timely claim and thus that § 8-104(e) limited the amount recoverable from the estate. At most, he said only that he had filed the claim as soon as he knew of the decedent’s death, which is insufficient to satisfy the requirements of § 8-103(a). Therefore, the trial court did not abuse its broad discretion in denying Shanefelter’s Rule 2-535(a) revisory motion.
Because the record includes a copy of the untimely claim that Shanefelter presented more than a month after the statutory deadline had already passed, the Court of Appeal concluded that it was beyond any serious dispute that Shanefelter failed to present a timely claim.
Because of his failure to present a timely claim, Shanefelter could recover, at most, the policy limits of the decedent’s insurance policy
ZALMA OPINION
The Maryland statute is not unusual. Since the estate was established before the suit was filed the plaintiff and his lawyers should have known about the death of the defendant and complied with the requirements of the law. The case went to trial. Shanefelter recevied a favorable verdict but, because of the statute, was limited to the limits of the liability policy issued by State Farm and could not take from the estates assets.
(c) 2023 Barry Zalma & ClaimSchool, Inc.
Go to substack at substack.com/refer/barryzalma Consider subscribing to my publications at substack at substack.com/refer/barryzalma
Barry Zalma, Esq., CFE, now limits his practice to service as an insurance consultant specializing in insurance coverage, insurance claims handling, insurance bad faith and insurance fraud alm(c) 2023 Barry Zalma & ClaimSchool, Inc.
Subscribe and receive videos limited to subscribers of Excellence in Claims Handling at locals.com https://zalmaoninsurance.locals.com/subscribe.
Go to substack at substack.com/refer/barryzalma Consider subscribing to my publications at substack at substack.com/refer/barryzalma
Barry Zalma, Esq., CFE, now limits his practice to service as an insurance consultant specializing in insurance coverage, insurance claims handling, insurance bad faith and insurance fraud almost equally for insurers and policyholders. He practiced law in California for more than 44 years as an insurance coverage and claims handling lawyer and more than 54 years in the insurance business. He is available at http://www.zalma.com and [email protected]
Write to Mr. Zalma at [email protected]; http://www.zalma.com; http://zalma.com/blog; daily articles are published at
Zalma on Insurance
Insurance, insurance claims, insurance law, and insurance fraud .
By Barry Zalma
Go to the podcast Zalma On Insurance at https://anchor.fm/barry-zalma; Follow Mr. Zalma on Twitter at https://twitter.com/bzalma; Go to Barry Zalma videos at Rumble.com at https://rumble.com/c/c-262921; Go to Barry Zalma on YouTube- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCysiZklEtxZsSF9DfC0Expg; Go to the Insurance Claims Library – https://zalma.com/blog/insurance-claims-libraryost equally for insurers and policyholders. He practiced law in California for more than 44 years as an insurance coverage and claims handling lawyer and more than 54 years in the insurance business. He is available at http://www.zalma.com and [email protected]
Subscribe and receive videos limited to subscribers of Excellence in Claims Handling at locals.com https://lnkd.in/gfFKUaTf.
Go to substack at https://lnkd.in/gEEnV7Dd Consider subscribing to my publications at substack at https://lnkd.in/gEEnV7Dd
Barry Zalma, Esq., CFE is available at http://www.zalma.com and [email protected].
Go to Barry Zalma videos at Rumble.com at https://lnkd.in/gV9QJYH, go to the Insurance Claims Library – https://lnkd.in/gWVSBde
Support Excellence in Claims Handling
By Barry Zalma · Launched 2 years ago
A series of writings and/or videos to help understand insurance, insurance claims, and becoming an insurance claims professional and who need to provide or receive competent and Excellence in Claims Handling.
Convicted Criminal Seeks to Compel Receiver to Protect his Assets
Post number 5291
See the video at and at and at https://www.zalma.com/blog plus more than 5250 posts.
The Work of a Court Appointed Receiver is Constitutionally Protected
In Simon Semaan et al. v. Robert P. Mosier et al., G064385, California Court of Appeals, Fourth District, Third Division (February 6, 2026) the Court of Appeals applied the California anti-SLAPP statute which protects defendants from meritless lawsuits arising from constitutionally protected activities, including those performed in official capacities. The court also considered the doctrine of quasi-judicial immunity, which shields court-appointed receivers from liability for discretionary acts performed within their official duties.
Facts
In September 2021, the State of California filed felony charges against Simon Semaan, alleging violations of Insurance Code section 11760(a) for making...
When There are Two Different Other Insurance Clauses They Eliminate Each Other and Both Insurers Owe Indemnity Equally
Post number 5289
In Great West Casualty Co. v. Nationwide Agribusiness Insurance Co., and Conserv FS, Inc., and Timothy A. Brennan, as Administrator of the Estate of Pat- rick J. Brennan, deceased, Nos. 24-1258, 24-1259, United States Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit (February 11, 2026) the USCA was required to resolve a dispute that arose when a tractor-trailer operated by Robert D. Fisher (agent of Deerpass Farms Trucking, LLC-II) was involved in a side-impact collision with an SUV driven by Patrick J. Brennan, resulting in Brennan’s death.
Facts
Deerpass Trucking, an interstate motor carrier, leased the tractor from Deerpass Farms Services, LLC, and hauled cargo for Conserv FS, Inc. under a trailer interchange agreement. The tractor was insured by Great West Casualty Company with a $1 million policy limit, while the trailer was insured by Nationwide Agribusiness Insurance Company with a $2 million ...
Opiod Producer Seeks Indemnity from CGL Insurers
Post number 5288
Read the full article at https://lnkd.in/guNhStN2, see the full video at https://lnkd.in/gYqkk-n3 and at https://lnkd.in/g8U3ehuc, and at https://zalma.com/blog plus more than 5250 posts.
Insurers Exclude Damages Due to Insured’s Products
In Matthew Dundon, As The Trustee Of The Endo General Unsecured Creditors’ Trust v. ACE Property And Casualty Insurance Company, et al., Civil Action No. 24-4221, United States District Court, E.D. Pennsylvania (February 10, 2026) Matthew Dundon, trustee of the Endo General Unsecured Creditors’ Trust, sued multiple commercial general liability (CGL) insurers for coverage of opioid-related litigation involving Endo International PLC a pharmaceutical manufacturer.
KEY FACTS
Beginning as early as 2014, thousands of opioid suits were filed by governments, third parties, and individuals alleging harms tied to opioid manufacturing and marketing.
Bankruptcy & Settlements
Endo filed Chapter 11 in August 2022; before bankruptcy it ...
Passover for Americans
Posted on February 19, 2026 by Barry Zalma
“The Passover Seder For Americans”
For more than 3,000 years Jewish fathers have told the story of the Exodus of the enslaved Jews from Egypt. Telling the story has been required of all Jewish fathers. Americans, who have lived in North America for more than 300 years have become Americans and many have lost the ability to read, write and understand the Hebrew language in which the story of Passover was first told in the Torah. Passover is one of the many holidays Jewish People celebrate to help them remember the importance of G_d in their lives. We see the animals, the oceans, the rivers, the mountains, the rain, sun, the planets, the stars, and the people and wonder how did all these wonderful things come into being. Jews believe the force we call G_d created the entire universe and everything in it. Jews feel G_d is all seeing and knowing and although we can’t see Him, He is everywhere and in everyone.We understand...
Passover for Americans
Posted on February 19, 2026 by Barry Zalma
Read the full article at https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/passover-americans-barry-zalma-esq-cfe-5vgkc.
“The Passover Seder For Americans”
For more than 3,000 years Jewish fathers have told the story of the Exodus of the enslaved Jews from Egypt. Telling the story has been required of all Jewish fathers. Americans, who have lived in North America for more than 300 years have become Americans and many have lostthe ability to read, write and understand the Hebrew language in which the story of Passover was first told in the Torah.
Passover is one of the many holidays Jewish People celebrate to help them remember the importance of G_d in their lives. We see the animals, the oceans, the rivers, the mountains, the rain, sun, the planets, the stars, and the people and ...
You Get What You Pay For – Less Coverage Means Lower Premium
Post number 5275
Posted on January 30, 2026 by Barry Zalma
See the video at and at
When Experts for Both Sides Agree That Two Causes Concur to Cause a Wall to Collapse Exclusion Applies
In Lido Hospitality, Inc. v. AIX Specialty Insurance Company, No. 1-24-1465, 2026 IL App (1st) 241465-U, Court of Appeals of Illinois (January 27, 2026) resolved the effect of an anti-concurrent cause exclusion to a loss with more than one cause.
Facts and Background
Lido Hospitality, Inc. operates the Lido Motel in Franklin Park, Illinois. In November 2020, a windstorm caused one of the motel’s brick veneer walls to collapse. At the time, Lido was insured under a policy issued by AIX Specialty Insurance Company which provided coverage for windstorm damage. However, the policy contained an exclusion for any loss or damage directly or indirectly resulting from ...
