SUSAN C. BUCKLEW, District Judge.
This cause comes before the Court on Plaintiff's Fifth Motion in Limine. (Doc. No. 176). Defendant opposes the motion. (Doc. No. 185). As explained below, the motion is granted in part and denied in part.
This is a lawsuit in which Plaintiff Joshua Moore claims that Defendant GEICO General Insurance Company acted in bad faith by failing to settle bodily injury claims asserted against him after he was involved in a multi-car accident. Plaintiff lost control of his truck and hit Amy Krupp's vehicle nearly head on. Krupp died as a result of the accident, and her minor son ("AO") was severely injured. The underlying car accident case went to trial in state court, and a judgment in excess of $4 million was entered against Plaintiff.
In the instant motion, Plaintiff seeks to exclude evidence and argument relating to: (1) the amount that the underlying claimants
Plaintiff seeks to exclude evidence and argument relating to the amount that the underlying claimants and their attorneys stand to recover from the bad faith lawsuit if Plaintiff prevails, arguing that such is not relevant to the issue of whether Defendant acted in bad faith. In support of this argument, Plaintiff cites
Next, Plaintiff seeks to exclude evidence and argument relating to the fact that Plaintiff is either unwilling or unable to pay any portion of the state court judgment that was entered against him in the underlying car accident lawsuit. Plaintiff argues that such evidence is inadmissible and irrelevant, because Plaintiff has been damaged by the existence of the judgment against him, even if he has not paid towards it.
Defendant responds that Plaintiff's ability to pay any judgment against him was a consideration by the claimants' and their counsel during the attempted settlement of the underlying car accident claim. Therefore, Defendant argues that its theory of the case is that Plaintiff's inability to pay any judgment affected the claimants' and their attorney's decision regarding settlement of the underlying car accident claim and was a motivation for the bad faith claim. However, Defendant agrees not to introduce evidence and argument of Plaintiff's non-payment towards the underlying car accident judgment as long as Plaintiff does not introduce evidence or argument that Plaintiff will be pursued by the claimants for the full amount of the underlying judgment.
Upon consideration, the Court agrees with Defendant that evidence and argument regarding Plaintiff's ability to pay a potential judgment as a consideration by the claimants' and their attorney during the settlement attempts is relevant and admissible. However, Plaintiff's actual non-payment of the underlying judgment will be precluded unless Plaintiff offers evidence or argument that he will be pursued by the claimants for the full amount of the underlying judgment. Thus, Plaintiff's motion in limine on this issue is granted in part and denied in part.
Accordingly, it is ORDERED AND ADJUDGED that Plaintiff's Fifth Motion in Limine (Doc. No. 176) is