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M. Austin Mehr

Written by MDLG.

Austin Mehr owns the law firm, which has five employees. Each case is handled, with the assistance of staff, by Austin Mehr personally. Mr. Mehr graduated from the University of Kentucky School of Law in 1983.

AM_CourthouseAustin Mehr keeps his caseload reasonable so he has time to try each case if required. Typically, there are 50 to 60 active cases ongoing at one time. Compare this to some of the high volume firms who advertise heavily. That may tell you something about your lawyer's willingness to try cases. Austin Mehr is capable, and willing, to try each case if necessary. Although Mr. Mehr cannot guarantee a particular verdict or award in any case, one can view recent verdicts in Kentucky.

His practice is concentrated to representing policyholders and claimants in bad faith actions and ERISA claims. He has litigated insurance bad faith cases against State Farm Mutual Insurance Company, Allstate Insurance Company, Kentucky Farm Bureau Insurance Company, Liberty Mutual Insurance Company, United American Insurance Company, Standard Life Insurance Company, Investors Life Insurance, Westfield Insurance Company, Preferred Abstainers Insurance Company, Life of the South Insurance Company, Southern Financial Insurance Company, The Auto Owners Insurance Company, State Auto Insurance Company, Home Insurance Company, Hamilton Mutual Insurance Company of Cincinnati, Kentucky National Insurance Company and Progressive Northern Insurance Company.

Mr. Mehr recently wrote a book, Bad Faith Insurance Law in Kentucky. In addition, he has published several articles and given many lectures concerning bad faith: Articles: "The Unfair Claims Settlement Practices Act Gives Workers' Compensation a Warm Hug - Welcome to the Real World" (1999), co-authored Bad Faith Litigation in Kentucky , National Business Institute (1997); How to Practice a Third Party Bad Faith Case, Kentucky Academy of Trial Attorneys (May 1999); Grange Mutual Ins. Co. v. Trude, A Change in the Landscape of Discovery for Bad Faith Cases, The Kentucky Academy of Trial Attorneys, The Advocate, March/April 2005; ERISA Preemption? Maybe, Maybe Not! Analysis of the “Safe Harbor Provisions, The Kentucky Academy of Trial Attorneys, The Advocate March/April 2006; Admissibility of “Litigation Conduct in a Bad Faith Trial, The Kentucky Academy of Trial Attorneys, The Advocate, March/April 2007; Defeating Summary Judgment Motions in Bad Faith Cases -the Power of Inference, The Kentucky Justice Association, The Advocate, November/December 2007; and Was Removal Proper Under ERISA? Why a Motion to Remand may be appropriate, The Kentucky Justice Association, The Advocate, March/April 2008.

Mr. Mehr is frequently asked to lecture on the topic of insurance bad faith in Kentucky as well as other states and even Ontario, Canada. Some of his speaking engagements include:

Lectures:

  • Litigating the Legal Malpractice Case , Fayette County Bar Association (December 1993);
  • Chaired Personal Injury Seminar (July 1995)
  • Chaired Insurance Law Dinner Meeting and Seminar (August 9, 1996)
  • Chaired Insurance Law/Bad Faith Seminar, June 13, 1997
  • Patient Abuse in Psychiatric Hospitals, ATLA's Litigation at Sunrise, (July 21, 1997)
  • Chaired KATA's Professional Negligence seminar (June 5, 1998)
  • Tips on the Trial of Bad Faith Cases, ATLA annual convention, Washington, DC (July 1998);
  • Bad Faith Law - Avoiding the Pitfalls and Preparing for Litigation , Louisville Bar Association (May 2001)
  • Insurance Bad Faith Claims in Kentucky , Lorman Education Services (January 2002)
  • Evidence Of Other Bad Acts To Support Punitive Damages After BMW V. Gore. How To Handle The Cries Of "Prejudice" Before The Trial And The Cries Of "Unsupported By The Evidence" After The Verdict, Kentucky Academy of Trial Attorneys (June 2002)
  • Proving Damages, Fayette County CLE , Lexington, Kentucky, (June 2002)
  • National Business Institute (February 2003)
  • State Farm v. Campbell, "It's not as bad as it sounds" (June 2003)
  • Punitive damages after State Farm v. Campbell ( October 2003)
  • Punitive damages after State Farm v. Campbell (December 2003)
  • Punitive damages after State Farm v. Campbell, KATA New Orleans seminar (2003)
  • Insurance Issues in Consumer Law , University of Kentucky CLE (September 2004)
  • ERISA Long Term Disablility Claims: Administrative Appeals through Litigation, Kentucky Justice Association (June 2008)