Kesler v. Progressive Select Insurance Company
In a first-party bad faith claim under §624.155(1)(b)1, Progressive deposed the plaintiff's underlying UM attorney and moved to compel testimony about the client's willingness to settle and the attorney's mental impressions, arguing the bad faith filing waived attorney-client and work product privileges. The trial court granted compel without analysis. The Second DCA granted certiorari and quashed the order, holding that filing a bad faith claim does not waive attorney-client privilege, that the insurer bears the burden to prove the insured was unwilling to settle (not vice versa), and that Progressive failed to satisfy the two-prong need-and-undue-hardship standard required to overcome work product protection.
Key facts
- On March 3, 2018, Bridgette Kesler was injured by an underinsured driver in Pasco County; her Progressive Select Insurance policy provided $200,000 in UM coverage; she retained the Ruth Law Team, submitted medical bills of $67,000, and demanded policy limits; Progressive countered with $43,000 and the dispute proceeded through a UM action in which a jury awarded Kesler $1,676,587.90, with final judgment entered for the $200,000 policy limits.
- Kesler filed a first-party bad faith action under §624.155(1)(b)1 after Progressive failed to pay policy limits within 60 days of her civil remedy notice; during discovery for the bad faith action, Progressive deposed Amy Catledge — Kesler's underlying UM attorney — and sought testimony about Kesler's willingness to settle for less than policy limits and Catledge's valuation of the claim.
- +2 more key facts with a free trial
Holdings
- Attorney-client privileged communications are not discoverable in a first-party bad faith action. Genovese v. Provident Life & Accident Ins., 74 So. 3d 1064, 1066 (Fla. 2011).
- +5 more holdings with a free trial
Why it matters
This decision holds squarely that filing a first-party bad faith action does not constitute a blanket waiver of attorney-client privilege. The opinion also clarifies that an insurer asserting a 'unwilling-to-settle'… — full analysis with a trial
Read the full opinion, holdings & search — free for 30 days
The full opinion PDF, the rules the court applied, our significance analysis, the background facts, and full-text search across every tracked Florida decision — in your hands.
- Search every tracked Florida decision in seconds
- Save, tag & file the cases that matter into your own library
- Read the full plain-English analysis and holdings
Not ready to sign up? Get the free Friday digest — the week's key Florida decisions by email, no login required.
Florida Court Tracker provides summaries of publicly available court opinions for informational and research purposes only. This is not legal advice and does not create an attorney–client relationship. Always verify holdings against the official opinion.