What Can’t a Judge Tell a Jury at Trial?
Speaker 1
Hello. My name is Billy Philippi, and I’m an attorney with the Gilmore Law Firm.
00;00;10;07 – 00;00;24;02
Speaker 2
Good morning. My name’s Gil Gilmore, an attorney with a law firm and also Billy’s uncle. The purpose today is to try to discuss with you some nuances of liability insurance. Really? Why don’t you tell people what? Liability insurance?
00;00;25;03 – 00;01;08;25
Speaker 1
Certainly. So liability insurance, and specifically in the context where we might say it or run into it, would be if you were at fault in an automobile or motor vehicle accident. Liability insurance is there where if you were at fault falls wreck that results in property damage or bodily injury to the other driver or your insurance company depending on the amounts you purchase as your liability limits would be responsible in paying the damages that you cause in the accident and in so that that is what liability insurance is.
00;01;08;25 – 00;01;24;14
Speaker 1
If you are liable for causing damages to a person or property, your insurance company through your liability coverage would satisfy whatever those damages are as well as provide you with representation in the event.
00;01;24;24 – 00;01;49;17
Speaker 2
So let’s assume hypothetically that Billy had a bad day at work and Billy is driving home from work, thinking about the things he needs to do when he gets home, his kids or whatever. And he doesn’t mean to, but he runs a red light and a hypothetical client, Marius is proceeding through a green light and Billy, for just negligent runs a red light and hits Mary and hurts Mary.
00;01;51;00 – 00;02;15;01
Speaker 2
Mary called us and asked her to represent her. And we do. We send Billy a letter or we are. Get in touch with Billy’s insurance company. And at that at that point, Billy’s kind of out of it. Billy calls the accident. He didn’t mean to, but that’s why he dies. That’s why he has insurance. So we would, as a the attorneys for Mary, we would be negotiating with the insurance guy.
00;02;15;01 – 00;02;38;13
Speaker 2
Really dangerous from last year saying, yes, insurance. We would be dealing with them and trying to settle the case. Very often the insurance company will not make reasonable and fair offers to compensate Mary for the injuries she’s had based on Billy’s neck. So if they don’t, we would file suit. Now, under Alabama law, we can’t sue Billy’s insurance company.
00;02;38;19 – 00;03;02;16
Speaker 2
We can only send Billy from our. Billy’s a defendant in a lawsuit. This is something that he paid for insurance. He was hoping it would be taken care of. But he’s now a defendant, a lawsuit. He’s got to answer interrogatories. He’s got to give a deposition and go through the litigation process. Then when he gets to trial, the real party who’s causing the litigation is as insurance companies.
00;03;02;16 – 00;03;27;21
Speaker 2
They’re not they’ve not paid the client. But Billy is the defendant, the Ace Insurance Company is not. Now, he’s been provided a standard from a U.S. insurance company, and they respond to any judge. But the trial would be a case about Mary versus Billy. And the judge is not allowed to tell the jury that any judgment against Billy would be paid for by as insurance company.
00;03;28;02 – 00;04;05;10
Speaker 2
And we, in our experience, the insurance companies use this tactic and this law to hide behind their own insurer and not make fair offers. The purpose of this discussion is to come to educate you, let you know if you’re ever on a jury and there’s an individual in an automobile accident. There’s an individual that is the defendant, the insurance there’s an insurance company behind that defendant hoping you as a general will pay compassionate to the individual, thinking they may have to pay the judgment when in fact, more times than not, most of the time there’s an insurance company responsible for the father.
00;04;05;10 – 00;04;11;04
Speaker 2
Any judgment they’ve rendered against Billy in that case. So you don’t answer?
00;04;11;12 – 00;04;40;05
Speaker 1
Yes. And one of the one of the things that would be in my policy, my liability policy, and this is the fine print when you purchase liability insurance, is I have a duty to cooperate with as insurance and their defense to the client. So in ILS situation he’s described where I may have called my insurance company in the adjust to resign because I turned the letter over to my local agent in my purchase.
00;04;40;05 – 00;05;01;10
Speaker 1
The policy with it may have paid premiums for ten years. He does not handle the claim that is sent to a claim center that may be in Atlanta, Georgia, Chicago, Illinois or somewhere on the East Coast. That’s who I’m dealing with. After the mayor has come and hired an attorney. So even though I may say, hey, I want this case settled, it’s my fault.
00;05;01;10 – 00;05;25;26
Speaker 1
I admit fault. I do not get to control how much they offer for my policy. That is the adjuster. So even though I want the case settled up, admitted fault, I know how much is there and I understand that Mary is hurt and I want her to be compensated. My wishes are not. What? What’s driving this? It’s the bodily injury adjuster at trial.
00;05;25;26 – 00;05;41;18
Speaker 1
I cannot say, Hey, my insurance company wouldn’t settle. I want them to say, because if I do, I violate the duty to cooperate calls my policy, which means that I now have to pay and not the insurance company. So I have to sit there and keep silent about it.
00;05;42;03 – 00;06;05;06
Speaker 2
And you know, Billy, I’ve been doing this for 40 years this year and I can think of on one occasion, and it was a special occasion where we ever saw a judgment against an individual as opposed to an insurance company. So I might be mistaken. I’ll think I am. But over 40 years there’s been one time where this law firm saw damages against members like that.
00;06;05;06 – 00;06;17;09
Speaker 2
That’s a special case. So that just goes to show that, you know, in almost every case, there’s an insurance company behind the individual. There’s this hiding there. You’re paying a judgment there.
00;06;18;28 – 00;06;38;19
Speaker 1
And, you know, oftentimes we will get questions from zero lawyers after a case is over and they may ask why? Why didn’t you tell us that there was insurance involved or why didn’t we hear about that? And that’s because the rules, the law prevents us from doing so well.
00;06;38;25 – 00;06;51;02
Speaker 2
Hopefully this video will help people that might be on juries. Understand that you have there’s insurance against the law, but the judge is not allowed under the law to go back.
00;06;51;02 – 00;07;22;29
Speaker 1
Thank you so much. And just remember, if you were ever in an accident and are injured while you’re happy and here to answer any questions that you may have. And also, if you get a jury summons, please show up for jury duty. It is so important and such a vital part of our justice system. And remember, in a civil jury case, if you’re there, there is an insurer or this hiding behind the individual.
