MORGAN v. STATE FARM MUTUAL AUTOMOBILE INSUR. CO., 488 P.3d 743

Morgan, while intoxicated, struck Jesse Atkins; Atkins incurred over $2M in medical bills.
State Farm (insurer) paid its $100,000 policy limit to Atkins in a 2010 settlement but did not obtain a release of NYM's workers'-compensation subrogation claim.
NYM (subrogee) sued Morgan for reimbursement; a jury awarded NYM $844,865.89 and judgment was entered April 8, 2014; appeals concluded March 23, 2017.
Morgan sued State Farm in May 2017 for (1) breach of the implied duty of good faith and fair dealing (bad faith) and (2) breach of contract, alleging the settlement without NYM release caused the adverse judgment.
The federal district court held both claims accrued in 2010 (at settlement) and were time-barred; the Tenth Circuit certified two accrual questions to the Oklahoma Supreme Court.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
When does a third-party bad faith claim based on an adverse/excess judgment accrue?	Accrual upon entry of the adverse judgment (or earlier at settlement/entry).	Accrual waits until the underlying judgment is final and non-appealable.	Held: Accrual occurs when the underlying judgment is finally determined on appeal; entry while appeals pending is not sufficient.
When does a breach-of-insurance-contract claim accrue if damages occur later?	Accrual should wait until damages are sustained/ascertained (e.g., when judgment becomes final).	Accrual occurs at the moment of contractual breach (e.g., at the settlement that failed to secure the release).	Held: Accrual occurs at the moment of breach; discovery rule does not apply to contract claims, though fraudulent concealment may toll the limitations period.

Stephens v. Gen. Motors Corp., 905 P.2d 797 (1995 OK 114) (legal-malpractice claim accrues only after underlying judgment is final)
Wille v. GEICO Cas. Co., 2 P.3d 888 (2000 OK 10) (contract-based insurer claim accrues when insurer breaches contract)
Samuel Roberts Noble Found., Inc. v. Vick, 840 P.2d 619 (1992 OK 140) (refusing to extend discovery rule to construction-contract claims)
Lewis v. Farmers Ins. Co., 681 P.2d 67 (1983 OK 100) (defines accrual timing for certain bad-faith claims)
Taylor v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 913 P.2d 1092 (Ariz. 1996) (bad-faith claim based on excess judgment accrues only when judgment is final)
Calvert v. Swinford, 382 P.3d 1028 (2016 OK 100) (sets Oklahoma standards for the tort discovery rule)