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The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has affirmed a decision by the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California denying Allstate Indemnity Company's motion for judgment as a matter of law (JMOL) and motion for new trial after a jury found Allstate guilty of bad faith refusal to settle under California law and awarded Carlos Madrigal, Richard Tang, and Anna Tang approximately $14 million in damages — plus interest.

Allstate had a "reasonable opportunity" to settle

The circuit court rejected Allstate's contention that it was entitled to JMOL on the bad faith claim notwithstanding its rejection of Madrigal's policy limits demand. The circuit court found that there was substantial evidence in the record from which a reasonable jury could have concluded that Madrigal's demand presented Allstate with a reasonable opportunity to settle and that its rejection of the demand had not been compelled by a factor out of Allstate's control, as the insurer had contended.