ANNA RUE CAMP AND JOHN E. VENN, AS TRUSTEE OF THE ESTATE OF FARISS D. KIMBELL, JR., M.D., PLAINTIFFS-APPELLANTS,
v.
ST. PAUL FIRE AND MARINE INSURANCE COMPANY, DEFENDANT-APPELLEE

11th Cir. | 1993-04-22
No. 91-3213
Before KRAVITCH, ANDERSON and BIRCH, Circuit Judges.
989 F.2d 428 Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit (1993) Positive Treatment
Cited by 3 cases
Opinion of the Court
BIRCH, Circuit Judge:

BIRCH, Circuit Judge: On April 16, 1992, we issued an opinion in this case in which we requested the Florida Supreme Court’s assistance with respect to a certified question concerning the intersection of insurance bad faith law and bankruptcy law. See 958 F. 2d 340 (11th Cir.1992). The Florida Supreme Court answered the question by holding that a bankruptcy trustee may bring an action against the bankrupt’s insurance company for the bad faith failure to settle a claim. See 616 So. 2d 12 (Fla. 1993). This holding was contrary to the district court’s decision.

We note, however, that the district court properly dismissed Anna Rue Camp, a judgment creditor of the bankruptcy estate, as a plaintiff in this case. 127 B.R.

879. The Florida Supreme Court held that the bankruptcy trustee, John E. Venn, can maintain an action against the insurer because the bankruptcy estate “stood in the shoes of the debtor and, in effect, the estate became the insured.” St. Paul’s duty to act in good faith, thus, only ran to the bankruptcy estate, and Camp may not maintain an action against St. Paul for bad faith. In fact, it strains logic to understand why Camp, who received a judgment approximately $2.75 million above the policy limits in her separate medical malpractice action, was damaged by St. Paul’s alleged bad faith refusal to settle within the policy limits in that case.

Therefore, the district court’s opinion is AFFIRMED in part, REVERSED in part and REMANDED for further proceedings consistent with this opinion and that of the Florida Supreme Court.

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Cited By

  • Venn v. ST. Paul Fire & Marine Ins. Co., 99 F.3d 1058 (11th Cir. 1996)
    …ction to recoup the excess judgment for which the estate remains liable.” Id. Accordingly, we reversed the district court’s dismissal of Venn’s bad faith action and affirmed the dismissal of Camp’s action. Camp v. St. Paul Fire and Marine Ins. Co., 989 F. 2d 428 (11th Cir.) (Camp III), cert. denied, 510 U.S. 964, 114 S.Ct. 441, 126 L.Ed.2d 375 (1993). On remand, the case was set for trial. Before trial, the district court heard arguments on the measure of compensatory damages. It ruled that the Florida Su…
  • Venn v. St. Paul Fire & Marine Ins. Co., 173 B.R. 759 (N.D. Fla. 1994)
    …scussed later, this logic is flawed. The Eleventh Circuit then reversed Judge Vinson’s summary judgment order and remanded the case to be tried consistent with the Florida Supreme Court’s opinion. Camp v. St. Paul Fire And Marine Ins. Co., 989 F.2d 428 (11th Cir.1993) (“Camp III”). The Eleventh Circuit also affirmed the dismissal of Anna Rue Camp as a plaintiff in the bad faith action, reasoning that under the Florida Supreme Court’s opinion, the duty of good faith ran only to the bankruptcy…

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