Reserves Info Irrelevant to Reasonableness of Settlement, W. Va. Federal Judge Rules

CLARKSBURG, W. Va. — A title insurer is not required to produce reserves documents in a dispute involving an underlying $41 million settlement, because the information is irrelevant to the reasonableness of First American’s decision to settle its liability in the underlying litigation, a West Virginia federal judge has ruled.

On Dec. 11, Judge Irene M. Keeley of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia further held that the insurer did not did not impliedly waive its attorney-client privilege regarding the underlying litigation because it did not rely on the advice of its attorneys to …