Page:Shapiro, Bernstein v. Bryan (123 F.2d 697).pdf/1

 Certainly, if a different rule is to be applied to offers to settle after judgment, it would be more lenient to the insurer, which no longer has the exclusive control that results from its power, before final judgment, to prevent the insured from assuming liability or settling a claim. But the applicability of a less stringent rule need not be passed on, since there was no showing that the insurer did not meet the higher standard. The legal issue of Farm Bureau’s liability was in real doubt. We cannot hold that the insurer’s conduct exhibited a disregard of the welfare of the insured of the kind penalized in Johnson v. Hardware Mutual Casualty Co., supra.

The judgment is affirmed.