State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance v. Superior Court

Opinion

KREMER, P. J.

Petitioner State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company (State Farm) seeks a writ of mandate to vacate the order of respondent superior court excluding all evidence of State Farm’s advice of counsel defense to a claim of insurance bad faith alleged by real parties in interest Johnson Kinsey, Inc., Edward Allen Wenz, Jr., Mary L. Johnson, Paul Kinsey, James M. Johnson, Blake Bowen, and Dorothy Haight (collectively Johnson Kinsey). The court excluded the evidence on the ground State Farm had failed to specifically plead advice of counsel in its answer and thus Johnson…