On May 12, 2020, Hangley Aronchick attorneys Ron Schiller and Rob Wiygul won a complete reversal of a $8,000,000 judgment against their client, Zurich American Insurance Company, in their appeal before the Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals. Hangley Aronchick was engaged to prosecute the appeal after an adverse jury verdict finding breach of the duty of good faith and fair dealing. The dispute turned on the applicability of certain umbrella coverage, which itself turned on whether the policyholder’s employee was within the scope of his employment at the time of the underlying accident. The Court of Civil Appeals agreed with Zurich that the precedent relied on by the plaintiffs/appellees was distinguishable, and that the trial court had committed reversible error in instructing the jury on the scope of an employer’s vicarious liability. The appellate court ordered that the judgment be reversed in its entirety, and that the case be remanded for further proceedings.
