Opinion ID: 788598
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Additional Breach of Fiduciary Duty Claims

Text: 27 DFA argues the district court erred in refusing to submit additional jury instructions on DFA's new claims that Travelers breached its fiduciary duty to DFA by (1) failing to provide timely notice of Travelers's intended handling of the Ward claim; and (2) withdrawing $250,000 from an escrow account with full knowledge DFA disputed that its deductible should be applied to the Ward settlement before exhausting Cabool's excess coverage. 28 After reviewing our prior decision and the trial transcript, we conclude the district court did not abuse its discretion in excluding DFA's requested instructions outlining additional breach of fiduciary duty claims. Although our prior decision did not expressly limit DFA's breach of fiduciary duty claim to a failure to appoint independent counsel and damages resulting directly therefrom, the district court's interpretation that the surviving claim did not allow recovery for either untimely notice of the Ward claim or Travelers's tender of DFA's $250,000 deductible was reasonable and entirely consistent with our prior decision. See Dairy Farmers I, 292 F.3d at 574-75. 29 Moreover, we agree with Travelers's contention that DFA failed to adduce any admissible proof regarding the likely outcome of the Ward claim negotiations, if Travelers had appointed separate counsel to represent DFA. The district court did not abuse its discretion in either excluding the likely outcome opinion of Professor Stempl as speculative or in refusing a requested jury instruction based on the opinion. Professor Stempl's proffered opinion that National Union would have settled the Ward claim without Travelers applying the DFA policy and deductible toward settlement lacked foundation and was purely speculative. Furthermore, the opinion was not disclosed, as required, in DFA's Rule 26 Report. See Fed.R.Civ.P. 26(a)(2)(B) (The report shall contain a complete statement of all opinions to be expressed and the basis and reasons therefor; the data or other information considered by the witness in forming the opinions.).