Zalma on Insurance
Education • Business
Insurance Claims professional presents articles and videos on insurance, insurance Claims and insurance law for insurance Claims adjusters, insurance professionals and insurance lawyers who wish to improve their skills and knowledge. Presented by an internationally recognized expert and author.
Interested? Want to learn more about the community?
June 21, 2023
Judicial Restraint

Appeal Back to District Court on Coverage Claim by Injured

Barry Zalma
Jun 21, 2023

Read the full article at https://lnkd.in/gMGW6TSF and see the full video at https://lnkd.in/gAJbYwA5 and at https://lnkd.in/gXMpZXX2 and at https://zalma.com/blog plus more than 4500 posts.

Jacob E. Godlove, Sr., and Kayla Kelley, on behalf of themselves and the Estate of Jacob Godlove, Jr., (collectively, Appellants), appealed to the District Court’s order denying their motion to intervene in an insurance-coverage dispute. In County Hall Insurance Company, Inc. v. Mountain View Transportation, LLC; John R. Humes, Jacob E. Godlove; Kayla Kelley; Estate Of Jacob Godlove, Jr., No. 22-2397, United States Court of Appeals, Third Circuit (June 16, 2023) the Third Circuit deal with changed circumstances.

FACTS

Godlove and Kelley, who was pregnant at the time with Godlove, Jr., were in a motor-vehicle accident with a tractor-trailer owned by Mountain View Transportation, LLC and driven by John R. Humes. Godlove and Kelley, on behalf of themselves and the Estate, sued Mountain View and Humes in state court for the resulting injuries, including the death of Godlove, Jr., which occurred two months after the accident.

Mountain View’s insurer, County Hall Insurance Company, Inc., claimed its insurance policy did not cover the accident because Humes was not listed on the relevant schedule of drivers. The letter also informed Mountain View that County Hall would defend the state-court tort action under a reservation of rights.

County Hall filed a federal court case against Mountain View and Humes, seeking a declaration that the policy did not cover the accident. After Mountain View and Humes failed to respond, the Clerk of Court entered a default against them at County Hall’s request.

After Appellants filed the state-court declaratory judgment action, County Hall moved the District Court for a default judgment in this federal action. The same day, Appellants moved to intervene in this action and to strike the entry of default.

The District Court denied the motion to intervene and the motion to strike.

During the pendency of the appeal, Appellants settled the underlying state-court tort suit against Mountain View and Humes, who were represented by counsel under County Hall’s reservation of rights. Appellants obtained a $1,000,000 judgment against Mountain View and Humes and an assignment of rights under any insurance policies.

Soon after, Appellants again sought a declaration in state court that the insurance policy covered the accident-this time standing in the shoes of Mountain View and Humes. That action remains pending.

When the District Court entered its order denying the motion to intervene, Appellants were only “plaintiffs who ha[d] asserted tort claims against the insured.” In the District Court’s words, they were “strangers to [the] insurance contract.” That is no longer so.

ANALYSIS

First, Appellants now have a judgment against Mountain View and Humes. Second, they have a purported assignment of rights under Mountain View’s insurance policy and have sued County Hall in state court on that basis.

The Third Circuit concluded that since the District Court might reach a different conclusion on the motion to intervene in view of the changed circumstances; or the purported assignment of rights might require or permit party substitution of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure; and because no declaratory judgment has been entered it might be appropriate for the District Court to stay this action pending resolution of the state-court declaratory judgment action.

The Third Circuit, therefore exercised judicial restraint and refused to express any view on the propriety of the stated possibilities. For that reason the Third Circuit decided to avoid making a decision and allow the District Court to evaluate the changed circumstances in the first instance.

Consistent with that principle, the Third Circuit vacated the District Court’s order and remanded the case back to the District Court for further proceedings.

ZALMA OPINION

When facts change after a ruling by a district court on an insurance coverage issue it is inappropriate for an appellate court to stomp on the jurisdiction of the trial court. Noting that the changed facts could have resulted in multiple different resolutions the Third Circuit exercised required judicial restraint and required to trial court to decide the issues by taking into consideration the changed facts exercising the wisdom accorded to King Solomon.

(c) 2023 Barry Zalma & ClaimSchool, Inc.

Please tell your friends and colleagues about this blog and the videos and let them subscribe to the blog and the videos.

Subscribe and receive videos limited to subscribers of Excellence in Claims Handling at locals.com https://zalmaoninsurance.locals.com/subscribe.

Consider subscribing to my publications at substack at https://barryzalma.substack.com/publish/post/107007808

Go to Newsbreak.com https://www.newsbreak.com/@c/1653419?s=01

Barry Zalma, Esq., CFE, is available at http://www.zalma.com and [email protected]

Follow me on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/comm/mynetwork/discovery-see-all?usecase=PEOPLE_FOLLOWS&followMember=barry-zalma-esq-cfe-a6b5257

Write to Mr. Zalma at [email protected]; http://www.zalma.com; http://zalma.com/blog; daily articles are published at https://zalma.substack.com. Go to the podcast Zalma On Insurance at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/barry-zalma/support; 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; https://creators.newsbreak.com/home/content/post; Go to the Insurance Claims Library – https://zalma.com/blog/insurance-claims-library

Please tell your friends and colleagues about this blog and the videos and let them subscribe to the blog and the videos.

Go to Newsbreak.com https://www.newsbreak.com/@c/1653419?s=01

Go to the Insurance Claims Library – https://lnkd.in/gWVSBde

00:07:02
Interested? Want to learn more about the community?
What else you may like…
Videos
Posts
September 26, 2025
No Way Out After Murder Conviction

Intentionally Shooting a Woman With A Rifle is Murder

Post 5196

See the full video at and at and at https://zalma.com/blog and more than 5150 posts.

You Plead Guilty You Must Accept the Sentence

In Commonwealth Of Pennsylvania v. Mark D. Redfield, No. 20 WDA 2025, No. J-S24010-25, Superior Court of Pennsylvania (September 19, 2025) the appellate court reviewed the case of Mark D. Redfield, who pleaded guilty to third-degree murder for killing April Dunkle with malice using a rifle.

Affirmation of Sentence:

The sentencing court’s judgment was affirmed, and jurisdiction was relinquished, concluding no abuse of discretion occurred.

Reasonable Inference on Trigger Pulling:

The sentencing court reasonably inferred from the guilty plea facts that the appellant pulled the trigger causing the victim’s death, an inference supported by the record and consistent with the plea.

Guilty Plea Facts:

The appellant admitted during the plea hearing...

00:07:16
placeholder
September 25, 2025
Prelitigation Communications Privileged

The Judicial Proceedings Privilege
Post 5196

Posted on September 25, 2025 by Barry Zalma

See the full video at and at

Judicial Proceeding Privilege Limits Litigation

In David Camp, and Laura Beth Waller v. Professional Employee Services, d/b/a Insurance Branch, and Brendan Cassity, CIVIL No. 24-3568 (RJL), United States District Court, District of Columbia (September 22, 2025) a defamation lawsuit filed by David Camp and Laura Beth Waller against Insurance Branch and Brendon Cassity alleging libel based on statements made in a letter accusing them of mishandling funds and demanding refunds and investigations.

The court examined whether the judicial proceedings privilege applieD to bar the defamation claims.

Case background:

Plaintiffs Camp and Waller, executives of NOSSCR and its Foundation, sued defendants Insurance Branch and Cassity over a letter alleging financial misconduct and demanding refunds and audits. The letter ...

00:07:56
placeholder
September 24, 2025
Untrue Application for Insurance Voids Policy

Misrepresentation or Concealment of a Material Fact Supports Rescission

Post 5195

Don’t Lie to Your Insurance Company

See the full video at and at https://rumble.com/v6zefq8-untrue-application-for-insurance-voids-policy.html and at https://zalma.com/blog plus more than 5150 posts.

In Imani Page v. Progressive Marathon Insurance Company, No. 370765, Court of Appeals of Michigan (September 22, 2025) because defendant successfully established fraud in the procurement, and requested rescission, the Court of Appeals concluded that the Defendant was entitled to rescind the policy and declare it void ab initio.

FACTS

Plaintiff's Application:

Plaintiff applied for an insurance policy with the defendant, indicating that the primary use of her SUV would be for "Pleasure/Personal" purposes.

Misrepresentation:

Plaintiff misrepresented that she would not use the SUV for food delivery, but records show she was compensated for delivering food.

Accident:

Plaintiff's SUV was involved in an accident on August ...

00:07:48
September 09, 2025
The Dishonest Chiropractor/Physician

How a Need for Profit Led Health Care Providers to Crime
Post 5185
Posted on September 8, 2025 by Barry Zalma

See the full video at https://lnkd.in/gePN7rjm and at https://lnkd.in/gzPwr-9q

This is a Fictionalized True Crime Story of Insurance Fraud from an Expert who explains why Insurance Fraud is a “Heads I Win, Tails You Lose” situation for Insurers.

The Dishonest Chiropractor/Physician

How a Need for Profit Led Health Care Providers to Crime

See the full video at and at

This is a Fictionalized True Crime Story of Insurance Fraud from an Expert who explains why Insurance Fraud is a “Heads I Win, Tails You Lose” situation for Insurers. The story is designed to help to Understand How Insurance Fraud in America is Costing Everyone who Buys Insurance Thousands of Dollars Every year and Why Insurance Fraud is Safer and More Profitable for the ­­­Perpetrators than any Other Crime.

How Elderly Doctors Fund their ...

placeholder
September 08, 2025
The Dishonest Chiropractor/Physician

How a Need for Profit Led Health Care Providers to Crime
Post 5185
Posted on September 8, 2025 by Barry Zalma

See the full video at https://lnkd.in/gePN7rjm and at https://lnkd.in/gzPwr-9q

This is a Fictionalized True Crime Story of Insurance Fraud from an Expert who explains why Insurance Fraud is a “Heads I Win, Tails You Lose” situation for Insurers.

The Dishonest Chiropractor/Physician

How a Need for Profit Led Health Care Providers to Crime

See the full video at and at

This is a Fictionalized True Crime Story of Insurance Fraud from an Expert who explains why Insurance Fraud is a “Heads I Win, Tails You Lose” situation for Insurers. The story is designed to help to Understand How Insurance Fraud in America is Costing Everyone who Buys Insurance Thousands of Dollars Every year and Why Insurance Fraud is Safer and More Profitable for the ­­­Perpetrators than any Other Crime.

How Elderly Doctors Fund their ...

placeholder
September 03, 2025

Barry Zalma: Insurance Claims Expert Witness
Posted on September 3, 2025 by Barry Zalma
The Need for a Claims Handling Expert to Defend or Prove a Tort of Bad Faith Suit

© 2025 Barry Zalma, Esq., CFE

When I finished my three year enlistment in the US Army as a Special Agent of US Army Intelligence in 1967, I sought employment where I could use the investigative skills I learned in the Army. After some searching I was hired as a claims trainee by the Fireman’s Fund American Insurance Company. For five years, while attending law school at night while working full time as an insurance adjuster I became familiar with every aspect of the commercial insurance industry.

On January 2, 1972 I was admitted to the California Bar. I practiced law, specializing in insurance claims, insurance coverage and defense of claims against people insured and defense of insurance companies sued for breach of contract and breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing. After 45 years as an active lawyer, I asked that my license to practice law be declared inactive ...

post photo preview
See More
Available on mobile and TV devices
google store google store app store app store
google store google store app tv store app tv store amazon store amazon store roku store roku store
Powered by Locals