Post by Wesley Todd

A California appeals court just revived bad-faith and punitive-damages claims against State Farm on delay alone. No coverage denial. State Farm paid Jennifer Bornoff every dollar owed on her burglary claim, two payments totaling roughly $130,000. The court still reversed summary judgment (Bornoff v. State Farm General, 2d Dist., May 1, 2026) because the four-month wait to pay was a triable question of bad faith. For claims leaders, the implication is direct: paying the claim in full does not close your bad-faith exposure. How long you take to pay is now its own liability. The court noted State Farm never questioned coverage; the only open issue was value. Slow handling on an undisputed claim was enough to send bad faith, punitive damages, and Brandt fees back to a jury. If your team grades claims performance on leakage and accuracy but not cycle time, that blind spot is exactly where punitive exposure lives. Track the rulings reshaping claims-handling risk and fold cycle-time exposure into your reserves while it is still your number to set, not a jury's. https://lnkd.in/eHGWfXMh #ClaimsManagement #BadFaith #InsuranceLaw #GeneralCounsel #LitigationRisk