John Brydon represented the defendant, TIG Premier Insurance, which had been sued for the enforcement of a performance bond and alleged "surety bad faith" in a case involving the default of a subcontractor in a major construction project.   This was the last jury trial of a surety bond bad faith case in California prior to the decision of the California Supreme Court in Cates v. Talbot Partners (1999) 21 Cal. 4th 28 holding that there is no implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing under a surety bond.   The jury ruled in favor of the defendant TIG on the bad faith claim and found that the reasonable amount of damages in the case was $1 million less than the amount already paid by TIG.   This ultimately led to a separate action in which TIG pursued recovery of the excess amounts paid under the bond.  

(McCarthy/Obyayashi v. TIG Premier Insurance, Los Angeles Superior Court,
Case No. BC 171045, 3/31/99)