In 2018, a pedestrian was struck and killed off of Harvard Avenue in Independence, Missouri. During pre-trial negotiations, the adjuster for the driver’s insurer, Famers Insurance, claimed their client’s vehicle had a mechanical issue and she suffered a diabetic medical episode while driving. Both of these were proven false.

The pedestrian’s family demanded the driver pay them the full single-limit $500,000 insurance policy. Farmers rejected this demand for failure to comply with the requirements of Section 537.058 of the Missouri Revised Statues.

In turn, the pedestrian’s family sent a new demand to Farmers, to which they countered at $300,000. At this point the family filed a wrongful-death suit for $2 million or $500,000 along with a 537.065 agreement under which they could pursue a bad-faith claim against Farmers. The driver accepted the $2 million settlement.