Joe Postel and Brendan Ross Engineer Four Settlements in Construction Defect Matters – in One Day!

Joe Postel and Brendan Ross, with the help of their insurer client, engineered a settlement of four related lawsuits simultaneously in federal court in Indianapolis.  Two construction defect suits were filed in Indiana state court against a builder insured by LPP’s client, each involving a different house and a different homeowner.  LPP filed a DJ action in federal court seeking rescission of the builder’s policy based on material misrepresentations in the application for insurance.  The builder, in turn, filed suit in Indiana state court against his insurance broker for negligence in processing the application, and against LPP’s client for allegedly breaching its insurance contract.

LPP enlisted the assistance of a magistrate judge in the federal DJ action in Indiana to convene a settlement conference involving all the parties to the four suits.  As a result of intensive negotiations conducted before the settlement conference, the parties were able to put together a complex agreement disposing of all four suits.  The settlement avoided not only the risk of owing indemnity, but also substantial litigation costs, which would have considerably exceeded the settlement amount.