10th Circuit 004: summary judgment in a fire insurance claim-bad faith case:
Judgment of cancellation operates prospectively only and does not relieve ins. co. of obligation to pay claim.
District court improperly denied plaintiffs’ motion for judgment as a matter of law because ins. co. failed to return premium on policy as required by Oklahoma law.
District Court improperly instructed jury that burden of proof necessary to prove intent to deceive was preponderance of evidence rather than clear and convincing evidence; on elements of cancelation; and on intent to deceive.
District court incorrectly held ins. co’s failure to investigate intent to deceive element was not relevant to plaintiffs’ bad faith claim.
District court incorrectly ruled ins. co. had no duty to investigate plaintiffs’ claim prior to denying it.
District court erred in granting summary judgment because there was dispute of fact concerning reasonableness of ins. co’s claim handling based on uncontroverted testimony of plaintiffs’ bad faith expert.