Parameters of Deposition of a Claims Rep Addressed in a First Party Case

In his recent June 27, 2012 Orders of Court in the case of Mangan v. Erie Insurance Exchange, No. 2011-cv-6261 (C.P. Luz. Co. June 27, 2012 Lupas, J.), Luzerne County Court of Common Please Judge David W. Lupas addressed the issue of a claims representative’s deposition in a first party benefits case.

According to reports on this case, the Plaintiff sought to depose an Erie Insurance Exchange adjuster. When Erie Insurance refused, the Plaintiff filed a Motion to Compel. Erie Insurance responded with a Motion for a Protective Order.

In his Orders on the motion, Judge Lupas granted the Motion to Compel and denied the Motion for Protective Order, but not limited the areas of inquiry.

More specifically, the Court ruled that “the deposition may not inquire about [the claims adjuster’s] mental impressions, conclusions, or opinions respecting the value or merit of the claim, defenses, to the claim, or respecting the strategy or tactics in defense of the claims by Defendant.”

Anyone desiring a copy of these Orders may click this LINK.

I send thanks to attorney Ann O. Farias, Esquire of the O’Donnell Law Offices in Kingston, Pennsylvania for forwarding this Decision to my attention.