Cases

A magistrate of the Eastern District of Texas denied an insurer’s motion for separate trials under FRCP 42(b) in a storm damage dispute, finding that the insurer had not met its burden to prove bifurcation would be economical, because extra-contractual liability does not require an underlying breach of contract and, even if the insurer had made a settlement offer on the claim, any risk of prejudice from introducing the offer at trial could be cured by sequencing proof at a single trial or providing a limiting instruction.