PK Willis Sues Prime Insurance – $75K Ain’t Enough

Patrick K. Willis Co. Inc., or PK Willis, told the court Wednesday that Prime Insurance Co.’s lowball offers in the underlying litigation against Prime’s policyholder, Auto Trackers and Recovery North LLC, PK Willis and a PK Willis client were made in bad faith. Prime’s actions breached its duty to Auto Trackers and PK Willis as an additional insured on the policy, the company said.

Prime’s refusal to properly defend Auto Trackers and PK Willis in the underlying litigation, which arose when a repossession PK Willis hired Auto Trackers to handle resulted in an altercation with the family from whom the vehicle was being repossessed, also violated Washington’s consumer protection law, PK Willis said. Prime failed to properly investigate the underlying claim and did not attempt in good faith to settle even after it became clear that Auto Trackers and PK Willis would be liable in the underlying litigation, the company said.

“In all, Prime’s conduct forced PK Willis and Auto Trackers into a situation wherein they could either attempt to settle [the lawsuit] themselves or else face a significantly higher adverse jury verdict,” PK Willis told the court.

The underlying litigation arose after PK Willis was hired to repossess a vehicle in Spokane County, Washington, in April 2019. The company hired Auto Trackers to execute the repossession.

During the repossession, Auto Trackers’ tow truck driver and the family the car was being repossessed from got into an altercation. The family allegedly suffered injuries during this altercation and later filed a lawsuit against Auto Trackers, PK Willis and the client that hired PK Willis, alleging the vehicle had been wrongfully repossessed, according to the complaint.

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Read The Complaint