Lawyer thread

Discussion in 'The Mainboard' started by Jax Teller, Apr 8, 2015.

  1. Gallant Knight

    Donor
    Arkansas RazorbacksHouston AstrosRice OwlsAston Villa

    just settled a case in mediation vs ACCC with 12k in meds for $9,600.00.

    the mediator said if they offer more than 9,900 the adjuster has to write a report and that she wasn't going to do that on a chiro+mri case because she would get bitched at.

    Themoron is this true?

    i don't think the mediator was lying, but i also am not 100% sure i didn't get fucked.
     
  2. wes tegg

    wes tegg I'm a Guy's guy, guys.
    Staff Donor
    Atlanta BravesDenver BroncosChicago BlackhawksBirmingham LegionMississippi Rebels

    I deal with them a lot and have never heard that. I do know that their adjusters have a set authority amount that they have access to without having to go up the chain, but that's been more than $9,900.00 in my experience. That might be what they were talking about.
     
    Gallant Knight likes this.
  3. Gallant Knight

    Donor
    Arkansas RazorbacksHouston AstrosRice OwlsAston Villa

    Has it been a set amount or case by case
     
  4. wes tegg

    wes tegg I'm a Guy's guy, guys.
    Staff Donor
    Atlanta BravesDenver BroncosChicago BlackhawksBirmingham LegionMississippi Rebels

    Set amount, but it might vary by the given adjuster. Also, that doesn't mean that they'll just offer it up. They just can without having to get approval.
     
    Gallant Knight likes this.
  5. Gallant Knight

    Donor
    Arkansas RazorbacksHouston AstrosRice OwlsAston Villa

    Thanks
     
  6. bertwing

    bertwing check out the nametag grandma
    Staff Donor
    Arkansas RazorbacksNew Orleans SaintsTiger WoodsBarAndGrill

    Adjusters have different tiers of authority amounts depending on the line of business in my experience with the 3 companies I'm most familiar with. A lot of them don't like going up the chain to get additional authority over what they initially evaluated it at, especially in mediations.... because most of those cases are reviewed with directors and VP's prior to the mediation to get the authority.

    Small case like yours gallant, she probably just didn't want to ask her boss for more money.
     
  7. Gallant Knight

    Donor
    Arkansas RazorbacksHouston AstrosRice OwlsAston Villa

    That is what I figured. My client said he would be happy with anything over 1,000 and didn’t want to go to trial under any circumstances so we were basically taking whatever they offered
     
    bertwing likes this.
  8. MORBO!

    MORBO! Hello, Tiny Man. I WILL DESTROY YOU!!!!
    Donor
    New York GiantsNew York YankeesAtlanta UnitedUCF Knights

    I spoke to an adjuster with desk authority of $9,999.99 yesterday. Really annoying because she was suggesting the same thing that she wouldn’t go to her supervisor. Gonna force her hand on that though.

    All depends on the adjuster, insurer, insured, etc. When I did defense work, my favorite adjuster had desk authority of $70k. Made our lives really easy.
     
    Gallant Knight likes this.
  9. RJF-GUMP

    RJF-GUMP Daubert Qualified in Cooler Thermodynamics
    Donor TMB OG

    Got a future medical projection in a comp case that was like $500k submitted a demand and opposing counsel said they were just going to leave medicals open . facepalm
     
  10. AIP

    AIP Team bush
    Donor
    Temple OwlsPhiladelphia PhilliesPhiladelphia EaglesPhiladelphia Flyers

    Mother is in icu in coma, will be for awhile if she makes it

    I have power of attorney

    So logistics question

    Can I just write checks for her bills and sign my name ? I know her credit card will be due and the electric

    Mortgage also
     
  11. wes tegg

    wes tegg I'm a Guy's guy, guys.
    Staff Donor
    Atlanta BravesDenver BroncosChicago BlackhawksBirmingham LegionMississippi Rebels

    Yes. Keep a record of everything and be prepared the provide a copy of the POA if needed.
     
  12. AIP

    AIP Team bush
    Donor
    Temple OwlsPhiladelphia PhilliesPhiladelphia EaglesPhiladelphia Flyers

    Thanks
     
    wes tegg likes this.
  13. wes tegg

    wes tegg I'm a Guy's guy, guys.
    Staff Donor
    Atlanta BravesDenver BroncosChicago BlackhawksBirmingham LegionMississippi Rebels

    :respek: sorry about your mom. I know that’s a tough position to be in.
     
  14. AIP

    AIP Team bush
    Donor
    Temple OwlsPhiladelphia PhilliesPhiladelphia EaglesPhiladelphia Flyers

    Thanks

    It’s all part of life, we all die

    It was sudden but she is 80 so it’s not a total shock

    I know where she is going

    My main stress is the bills, she has more than enough to pay them I just was not sure how to
     
    ARCO, CF3234, Oranjello and 3 others like this.
  15. Gallant Knight

    Donor
    Arkansas RazorbacksHouston AstrosRice OwlsAston Villa

    very sorry to hear that.

    i don't know the answer to the above, but if it's not looking great you should look into who is the executor of her will, as a power of attorney expires when someone dies.
    do you know who is executor of her estate? Because that POA prob expires if she dies
     
  16. AIP

    AIP Team bush
    Donor
    Temple OwlsPhiladelphia PhilliesPhiladelphia EaglesPhiladelphia Flyers

    I am

    I am the only child, she did her will, poa and living will years ago

    If she died our lawyer (hers too) would take over and do what ever paperwork

    I know he did a lot with sheltering the money
     
    Gallant Knight likes this.
  17. Bo Pelinis

    Donor TMB OG
    Nebraska CornhuskersKansas City RoyalsKansas City ChiefsBig 8 Conference

    I hope your POA is notarized and comes from a legit source. I've seen a million POAs and a lot of them are not what I would call official.
     
  18. (Z)

    (Z) Well-Known Member
    Donor
    Alabama Crimson TideBoston Red Sox

    Sheesh, is it even worth having to pay a mediator for that amount of settlement?
     
  19. Gallant Knight

    Donor
    Arkansas RazorbacksHouston AstrosRice OwlsAston Villa

    Offer before mediation was 1,200

    I have a decent relationship with the ACCC attorney, in Houston they’re all salaried employees of ACCC, and he said they’ve been settling 9/10 cases at mediation

    Other option was to spend a bunch of time getting ready for trial and hoping they offered that like a week or two before
     
    wes tegg likes this.
  20. wes tegg

    wes tegg I'm a Guy's guy, guys.
    Staff Donor
    Atlanta BravesDenver BroncosChicago BlackhawksBirmingham LegionMississippi Rebels

    I've got an out of town mediation on Friday. The Plaintiff now lives out of state, but used to live where the case is pending. She overtreated and has completely unrealistic expectations, so I'm not all that optimistic about getting it settled. But, she does have a lawyer who I know has no desire to try it, and doesn't really know what he's doing. I thought that was really our only hope at a successful mediation, but I just found out that the plaintiff will not be present and will instead by appearing by phone. What an incredible waste of time.
     
    bertwing, buy_dont_lease and Z like this.
  21. Gallant Knight

    Donor
    Arkansas RazorbacksHouston AstrosRice OwlsAston Villa

    sounds like the easiest day of billing ever tho
     
  22. (Z)

    (Z) Well-Known Member
    Donor
    Alabama Crimson TideBoston Red Sox


    Sounds like an offer without a lawyer being involved. You must be in a pretty conservative venue.
     
  23. Gallant Knight

    Donor
    Arkansas RazorbacksHouston AstrosRice OwlsAston Villa

    yep; the case was in montgomery county, texas, which might be the most conservative county in the state.

    harris county, where houston is, isn't much better.
     
    wes tegg likes this.
  24. (Z)

    (Z) Well-Known Member
    Donor
    Alabama Crimson TideBoston Red Sox

    Trade offs for different places I guess.

    In most of the counties where I practice, you can get a $5,000 offer even if the wreck didn't happen. :laugh:
     
    colonel_forbin and wes tegg like this.
  25. wes tegg

    wes tegg I'm a Guy's guy, guys.
    Staff Donor
    Atlanta BravesDenver BroncosChicago BlackhawksBirmingham LegionMississippi Rebels

    The billable hours are there, and they'll still be there after I've wasted my Friday.
     
  26. wes tegg

    wes tegg I'm a Guy's guy, guys.
    Staff Donor
    Atlanta BravesDenver BroncosChicago BlackhawksBirmingham LegionMississippi Rebels

    Ha! I've paid more than that on a tractor trailer accident that didn't happen in your neck of the woods.
     
    Z likes this.
  27. (Z)

    (Z) Well-Known Member
    Donor
    Alabama Crimson TideBoston Red Sox

    I had a decent case one time with a little tag along that didn't seem quite as good, but it was plausible--issue over insurance coverage.

    When finally got all of the documentation, not only was the client absolutely full of it, but the thing he was arguing about was about 10 years passed the statute of limitations, he just didn't know it had happened. Still ended up getting several thousand offered just because of where it was.
     
    wes tegg likes this.
  28. Oranjello

    Oranjello Well-Known Member
    Donor
    Green Bay PackersNew Orleans SaintsGrateful DeadMississippi Rebels

    Bright side is you get to bill for it.

    Edit: Already beat me to it before I refreshed thread
     
    wes tegg likes this.
  29. Gallant Knight

    Donor
    Arkansas RazorbacksHouston AstrosRice OwlsAston Villa

    wes tegg were you ordered to mediation?

    we object to mediation a decent amount here when the judge orders us to go.
     
  30. buy_dont_lease

    buy_dont_lease Ha ha ha. What a story, Mark.
    Donor
    Texas AandM Aggies altTexas RangersDallas CowboysTottenham HotspurDallas Mavericks alt

    We got ordered to mediation (which will be the third in the case, with our third separate mediator) yesterday, with a mediation deadline of July 6th (next Friday). Jury selection is July 9th, and trial starts on the 10th. The order came out of the blue, and was followed up with by a letter from the judge stating in its entirety "Please be advised that I am requiring the insurance adjuster to be present during the mediation." Anyone heard of such a thing?
     
    #6080 buy_dont_lease, Jun 27, 2018
    Last edited: Jun 27, 2018
    ARCO and wes tegg like this.
  31. wes tegg

    wes tegg I'm a Guy's guy, guys.
    Staff Donor
    Atlanta BravesDenver BroncosChicago BlackhawksBirmingham LegionMississippi Rebels

    We weren't ordered to it. The mediator is really, really good, so I thought it was worth a shot when Plaintiff's counsel floated the idea pretty close to the last trial setting. But, the mediator's ability is extremely hamstrung by the plaintiff's not being there. Not really worth canceling it at this point, but I'm not expecting to be there for very long.
     
  32. wes tegg

    wes tegg I'm a Guy's guy, guys.
    Staff Donor
    Atlanta BravesDenver BroncosChicago BlackhawksBirmingham LegionMississippi Rebels

    Yeah, I've had something similar (but not around a holiday). We ended up trying it.
     
    Gallant Knight likes this.
  33. buy_dont_lease

    buy_dont_lease Ha ha ha. What a story, Mark.
    Donor
    Texas AandM Aggies altTexas RangersDallas CowboysTottenham HotspurDallas Mavericks alt

    The parties were $4 million apart at the conclusion of the last mediation at the end of April, and nothing material has changed in the case, so I expect we're trying it, too. I am concerned that this and few other developments might cause the trial to be continued, which would piss me off.
     
    Gallant Knight and wes tegg like this.
  34. wes tegg

    wes tegg I'm a Guy's guy, guys.
    Staff Donor
    Atlanta BravesDenver BroncosChicago BlackhawksBirmingham LegionMississippi Rebels

    State or Federal Court?
     
  35. buy_dont_lease

    buy_dont_lease Ha ha ha. What a story, Mark.
    Donor
    Texas AandM Aggies altTexas RangersDallas CowboysTottenham HotspurDallas Mavericks alt

    State
     
  36. wes tegg

    wes tegg I'm a Guy's guy, guys.
    Staff Donor
    Atlanta BravesDenver BroncosChicago BlackhawksBirmingham LegionMississippi Rebels

    Here, you'd be fucked. They'll continue anything. It's gotten brutal. I have four cases get continued on Plaintiff's motion in 2018. Three were before I had time to file an opposition. The other one Plaintiff's counsel didn't even bother to tell me he was filing it on the Friday before.
     
  37. buy_dont_lease

    buy_dont_lease Ha ha ha. What a story, Mark.
    Donor
    Texas AandM Aggies altTexas RangersDallas CowboysTottenham HotspurDallas Mavericks alt

    We were set in May and agreed to pass because the judge told us we wouldn't be reached due a special setting. The parties couldn't agree on a new trial date, so we filed motion for special setting in the first available month that our experts were available, October. Plaintiff opposed and sought a July setting, which the court ordered, despite the fact that two of our properly disclosed expert witnesses were not available. So now that we've worked around that issue and are ready to go, it will be ironic if the plaintiff or the court push this thing off, which is what this is looking like to me.
     
    wes tegg likes this.
  38. wes tegg

    wes tegg I'm a Guy's guy, guys.
    Staff Donor
    Atlanta BravesDenver BroncosChicago BlackhawksBirmingham LegionMississippi Rebels

    Well, you're just a measly $4MM apart! Settle it.
     
    bertwing likes this.
  39. buy_dont_lease

    buy_dont_lease Ha ha ha. What a story, Mark.
    Donor
    Texas AandM Aggies altTexas RangersDallas CowboysTottenham HotspurDallas Mavericks alt

    Right
     
    Nelson and wes tegg like this.
  40. Gallant Knight

    Donor
    Arkansas RazorbacksHouston AstrosRice OwlsAston Villa

    Agreed
     
    RJF-GUMP likes this.
  41. Gallant Knight

    Donor
    Arkansas RazorbacksHouston AstrosRice OwlsAston Villa

    In Houston you basically get 2 continuances that the judges will auto grant. On the third you may have to show up and ask in person but they’ll grant that too
     
    BUstang, buy_dont_lease and wes tegg like this.
  42. colonel_forbin

    colonel_forbin Well-Known Member
    Donor

    Mediation is always a waste of time without a good mediator. Mediators need to be assholes to all parties involved.
     
  43. bertwing

    bertwing check out the nametag grandma
    Staff Donor
    Arkansas RazorbacksNew Orleans SaintsTiger WoodsBarAndGrill

    definitely worth to time to mediate when it's that close in valuation
     
  44. Gallant Knight

    Donor
    Arkansas RazorbacksHouston AstrosRice OwlsAston Villa

    Just pay
     
  45. bertwing

    bertwing check out the nametag grandma
    Staff Donor
    Arkansas RazorbacksNew Orleans SaintsTiger WoodsBarAndGrill

    You'll take nuisance value and like it boy
     
    buy_dont_lease likes this.
  46. Gallant Knight

    Donor
    Arkansas RazorbacksHouston AstrosRice OwlsAston Villa

    Wouldn’t be the first or the last time
     
    buy_dont_lease and bertwing like this.
  47. Themoron

    Themoron Well-Known Member


    Yes. It's why typically you can settle most cases with a motivated ACCC adjuster under $9,999.99.

    All reps have authority of $9,999 at about 6 months and there is no review process UNLESS it gets tagged low speed impact at report!!!!

    Any BI settlement at $10k or higher is considered a High Value claim because $10k is a lot of money to ACCC. It gets reviewed by multiple jack asses in Houston before they reply back with Authority. The process on the rep requires the most ridiculous and time consuming documentation imaginable. Would have never gotten authority at mediation if the rep didn't have it before he/she arrived.


    To summarize, 99% of ACCC adjusters can settle claims at $9,999.00. No adjuster has desk authority over $10k. ACCC is notrun like other insurance companies where they adjust your authority levels as you prove your working knowledge of the business. Yes, the mediator told you the truth. And yes, you are probably still happier than you would be if you were dealing with Allstate as you would be prepping for a trial with not much juice to squeeze.
     
    #6097 Themoron, Jun 28, 2018
    Last edited: Jun 28, 2018
    wes tegg and Gallant Knight like this.
  48. THE REAL GUBBERJK

    THE REAL GUBBERJK original ocean grown
    Donor

    when I see some of you in the trump thred .
    it makes you cheap talkers .
    gave no likes.
    lost your rep .
     
  49. THE REAL GUBBERJK

    THE REAL GUBBERJK original ocean grown
    Donor

    doesn,t matter if your republican , democrate , or a man in the moon .
    you lost credibility .
     
  50. SmoochieWallace

    SmoochieWallace Ipse dixit
    Donor
    Florida GatorsTampa Bay RaysTampa Bay BuccaneersTampa Bay LightningArsenal