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| Suzanne Hoffman-LeBlanc, Esq. Click to send e-mail |
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INSURANCE BAD FAITH
ATTORNEY and COUNSELOR
Suzanne Hoffman-LeBlanc, LLC
27 Main Street
Suite 103
Edwards, CO 81632
Tel: 970-376-8132
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| Do I have a Bad Faith Case? |
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Bad faith refers to dishonesty or fraud in a transaction, such as entering into an agreement with no intention of ever living up to its terms, or knowingly misrepresenting the quality of something that is being bought or sold. It may involve an intent to deceive or mislead another in order to gain some advantage. It is often related to a breach of a the obligation inherent in alll contracts to deal with the other parties in good faith and with fair dealing, such as in paying claims, or issuing a cancellation under an insurance policy. Insurers may be guilty of bad faith for failing to promptly and thoroughly investigate a claim, unreasonably delaying payment, unreasonably denying benefits to a claim, using unreasonable interpretations in translating policy language, or refusing to settle the case or reimburse you for the entirety of your loss, etc. Unless a time period for settling a claim is defined in the policy, a "reasonable time" generally applies, which is a subjective term, depending on the facts and circumstances in each case.
Bad faith may also be claimed against a person who files suit solely for purposes of harassment. In this case, the defendant's attorney fees may be awarded if such bad faith motives are proven.
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| Suzanne Hoffman-LeBlanc, JD LLC |
Suzanne Hoffman-LeBlanc has a diverse international background as an engineer, attorney and entrepreneur. Ms. Hoffman-LeBlanc, a long-time permanent resident of Switzerland, currently resides in Eagle County, Colorado. She is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Vita Prospera Enterprises LLC. Vita Prospera® is a unique integrative medicine and wellness management and consulting company focusing on health enrichment, maintenance and recovery through a bio-psycho-social approach.
Ms. Hoffman-LeBlanc is also sole owner of Dolce e Dani Wine Imports LLC, importer of fine wines from Italy, Switzerland and Israel. She also holds two active licenses to practice law in Texas and Colorado.
Ms. Hoffman-LeBlanc received her Bachelor degree in Biomedical Engineering from Tulane University and her Juris Doctorate degree from South Texas College of Law in Houston, Texas. She is a licensed attorney in both Colorado (2005) and Texas (1991). Ms. Hoffman-LeBlanc is a member of the Vilar Center Guild and served as Secretary/Treasurer on the Guild’s founding board. She has been involved in entrepreneurial projects in health tourism, integrative medicine and wine importation and currently practices law in Colorado.
In 2000, Ms. Hoffman-LeBlanc founded Transcend Executive Services, AG, parent company of the proposed new-entrant airline, Transcend, in Zurich, Switzerland. She served as the company’s Chief Executive Officer, heading up the fund-raising and ramp-up activities of the project. In August 2001, despite a severe industry downturn, Ms. Hoffman-LeBlanc was successful in obtaining a letter of intent for CHF 25 million to fund the new niche carrier; however, the date for signing with the investors was September 12, 2001. As a result of her innovative business plan for Transcend, the trade publication, Business Travel Executive, chose Ms. Hoffman-LeBlanc as one of four industry visionaries of 2002. Her work at Transcend also brought her notoriety in the industry, including her presentation on start-up airlines at the 2002 IATA Air Transport Outlook Conference in Madrid, Spain.
Prior to founding Transcend, Ms. Hoffman-LeBlanc spent several years as an attorney with Swiss Re, Zurich, first in the International Business Department as underwriting and claims counsel for the Oil and Petrochemical and Pharmaceuticals industry teams and later with Swiss Re New Markets. During her tenure with New Markets, Ms. Hoffman-LeBlanc served as legal counsel to the Aerospace and Aviation Industry Practices team, specializing in corporate governance, alliance and e-commerce issues. Ms. Hoffman-LeBlanc successfully developed, implemented and marketed an integrated insurance product for directors and officers, employment practices and fiduciary liability for Fortune 500 clients, with emphasis on the aerospace and aviation industry. As local Compliance Officer in Zurich, Ms. Hoffman-LeBlanc was a key member of the team responsible for developing and implementing a divisional compliance program and for implementing the Group Code of Conduct. Ms. Hoffman-LeBlanc was a frequent organizer of and lecturer in several in-house seminars for worldwide staff, aviation clients and brokers on the subject of alliances, directors and officers, employment practices, and fiduciary liability insurance and risk management. She is a specialist in corporate risk management and has contributed to an aviation textbook on the subject of alliance risk management.
Prior to law school, Ms. Hoffman-LeBlanc worked as an engineer in the oil services industry. As a project engineer for McDermott Shipyards in Gulfport, Mississippi, a division of the marine construction company McDermott Inc., Ms. Hoffman-LeBlanc was responsible for overseeing the construction and delivery of ocean going tugboats, roll-on/roll-off barges, oil drilling platform modules and the design and construction of shipyard facility buildings. Ms. Hoffman-LeBlanc also worked as Marine/Offshore International Marketing Manager for Bailey Controls Company, the Ohio-based division of McDermott.
Ms. Hoffman-Hoffman-LeBlanc is a passionate advocate for health care reform through innovation and a return to a consumer-driven model, not through the expansion of the current third party payer system. In addition to providing legal services to healthcare providers and their clients in disputes with health insurance providers, Ms. Hoffman-Hoffman-LeBlanc works as a mediator and a health care attorney-advocate.
She is available to meet with clients at 2520 South Grand Avenue Suite 110, Glenwood Springs, Colorado 81601 or
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