This is an insurance coverage dispute arising from a car accident between Plaintiffs, in which Plaintiffs seek to enforce a liability insurance policy issued by Defendant to Plaintiff Anita Myers that was later assigned to Plaintiff Sarah Montalvan.
Defendant sought to exclude the testimony of Peter Knowe, Plaintiffs’ designated insurance claims handling expert while Plaintiffs sought to exclude the opinions of GailAnn Stargardter, Defendants’ designated insurance claims-handling expert.
Insurance Expert Witness
Peter Knowe has specialized qualifications and experience in adjusting, investigating, and evaluating insurance claims. During his career in the insurance industry spanning 26 years, he was trained in evaluating and responding to policy limit demands and time-limited demands.
Law And Legal Expert Witness
GailAnn Y. Stargardter is a practicing attorney specializing in “insurance coverage and bad faith,” and has been practicing in Washington since 1988, and California since 2007.
Stargardter’s practice is limited to insurance coverage and bad faith. Stargardter was previously employed as a claim attorney for an insurance company, where she reviewed files to “determine whether claims were being handled consistent with state and company requirements.” She also provides training to insurance clients regarding the California state settlement regulations, is a “co-author of California Insurance Law (The Recorder (2015)),” and previously testified as an expert witness.
Discussion by the Court
A. Defendant’s Motion to Exclude the Expert Testimony of Peter Knowe
1. Qualifications
Based on Knowe’s description of his experience and attached curriculum vitae, the Court found that Knowe is qualified to provide expert testimony in this case.
Therefore, the Court denied the Knowe motion insofar as it sought to exclude, on the ground of Knowe’s lack of qualifications, his testimony regarding industry customs and practices in handling insurance claims.
2. Reliability and Methodology
Plaintiffs offered Knowe as an expert on the topic of whether Defendant “complied with the practices and standards of the insurance industry in its handling of the liability claim brought by Sarah Montalvan against Anita Myers.”
Based on Knowe’s review of various materials, including Defendant’s claim file, the deposition transcript of Starla Tuck, Defendant’s claims adjuster, and other case specific documents, Knowe opined that Defendant’s claim handling “fell below the insurance industry standard of care” in twelve different ways.
Based on the Court’s review of the Knowe Report, the Court agreed with Defendant that the Report (1) did not sufficiently articulate the bases for Knowe’s proffered “industry standards,” and (2) lacked a described nexus between the described industry standards and Knowe’s opinions.
Analysis
In his Report, Knowe listed sixteen standards “for claims handling,” which are “national in scope and apply in all states.” However, the Knowe Report did not identify the specific source for each standard.
Other than to cite his training and experience, the Knowe Report did not explain how Knowe derived his sixteen standards from the above-referenced insurance industry texts and articles.
In addition, as articulated by Defendant during the hearing on the motions, it is unclear whether each of the sixteen standards Knowe describes in his report were applicable when Defendant evaluated Plaintiffs’ claim in 2018. Further, even if the Knowe Report were to describe the basis for the standards described therein, it is unclear how Knowe “applied the principles and methods reliably to the facts of the case.”
Nevertheless, the Court found that the above deficiencies may be curable. Based on Knowe’s described experience with insurance claims handling as a senior technical representative, manager of California-based field offices at a nationwide insurance company, and experience as an expert witness in other proceedings, the Court is inclined to give Knowe the opportunity to explain how he derived the 16 standards, whether those standards existed at the time of the claim, and how he applied the principles and methods reliably to the facts of this case.
B. Plaintiffs’ Motion to Exclude GailAnn Stargardter
1. Qualifications
Plaintiffs presented no argument that Stargardter is unqualified. Based on Stargardter’s described experience, the Court found that she possesses sufficient “knowledge, skill, experience, training, or education” to provide expert testimony regarding insurance claim handling.
2. Ultimate Issue Testimony
Plaintiffs argued that “the Stargardter Report is a legal brief masquerading as expert testimony” in that the Stargardter’s opinions are no more that impermissible conclusions and are one-sided, incomplete, and unreliable.
Based on the Court’s review of the Stargardter Report and Stargardter Rebuttal, the Court concluded that the Stargardter Report and Stargardter Rebuttal provided legal opinions on ultimate issues of law, and such opinions should be excluded.
Anlaysis
Stargardter opined that Defendant’s handling of Plaintiffs’ claims “was within the standard of care, consistent with the standards, customs, and practices in the insurance industry, compliant with the CUCPA and the Regulations, and compliant with National General’s own internal guidelines.”
In particular, according to Stargardter’s opinion, Defendant “conducted a full, fair, objective and timely investigation of Sarah Montalvan’s claim,” “fully, fairly, objectively, proactively, and timely evaluated Sarah Montalvan’s claim, and extended settlement offers commensurate with the claims as documented by her counsel.”
This opinion, plainly, amounts to legal analysis. The Stargardter Report and Stargardter Rebuttal rely on legal authorities to assert that Defendant’s handling of Plaintiffs’ claims was “within the standard of care, consistent with the standards, customs, and practices in the insurance industry, compliant with the CUCPA and the Regulations, and compliant with National General’s own internal guidelines.”
The only portion of Stargardter’s testimony that does not provide legal analysis is what Defendant characterize as “a detailed claim-file chronology tracking Defendant’s handling from the initial loss report on September 24, 2017, through the filing of the suit.”
Based on the Court’s review of the Stargardter Report and the parties’ arguments at the hearing, both the Stargardter Report and Stargardter Rebuttal offered legal opinions that will not be helpful to the jury
Held
Having considered the parties’ submissions, oral arguments, the relevant law, and the record in this case, the Court ordered the parties’ respective experts to file supplemental expert reports that address the deficiencies and reserved ruling on the motions until after the supplemental reports are filed.
Key Takeaway
In describing the bases for her opinions, Stargardter does not reference her experience handling insurance claims or Defendant’s internal guidelines. Neither the Stargardter Report nor Stargardter Rebuttal describe whether Defendant’s conduct was reasonable based on industry practices and norms.
Case Details:
| Case Caption: | Montalvan V. National General Insurance Company |
| Docket Number: | 5:25cv441 |
| Court Name: | United States District Court, California Central |
| Order Date: | July 07, 2026 |
