Victaulic Co. v. Am. Home Assurance Co.

*951 Victaulic Company (Victaulic), a manufacturer of plumbing products, sued its insurers in connection with nine product liability claims against Victaulic that resulted in litigation. Following a favorable ruling for Victaulic on summary adjudication (potential for coverage and thus a duty to defend) and then a favorable ruling in a court trial for declaratory relief (duty to indemnify), the case proceeded to a jury trial on Victaulic's claim of bad faith. That trial lasted three and one-half weeks, during which numerous witnesses testified and over 100 exhibits were introduced.

One of those witnesses was Nancy Finberg, the examiner on a majority of the claims, who had also verified the insurers' responses to Victaulic's requests for admissions (RFAs). Reversing an in limine ruling to the contrary, *952 the trial court allowed Victaulic to interrogate Finberg about those responses, interrogation twice interrupted by interrogation by the court itself, the second round of which was abruptly halted by the court for an in-chambers conference where the court concluded Finberg had "made an admission that she perjured herself." Finberg's testimony was stopped at that point, and when…