Tag: West Virginia

October Bad Faith Case Roundup

discovery

Discovery

Claims Files / Reserve History

Parisi vs. State Farm, 2017 US Dist. LEX, 162161 (Western District of PA, Oct. 2, 2017) (Gibson, J.) – Court ordered in camera inspection of State Farm’s claims file including portion of the file designated “free-form attorney” to make determination of whether or not information contained is protected by the attorney-client privilege or attorney work-product doctrine.   Court also held reserve history of claim is discoverable.

Pleadings

Adequately Pleading Bad Faith/Handling UIM Claim

Thomas vs. Protective Insurance Company, 2017 US Dist. LEX 166955 (M.D. Pa. Oct. 10, 2017) (Caputo, J.) – The Court denied Protective’s Motion to Dismiss Plaintiff’s Amended Complaint pursuant to F.R.Civ. P. 12(b)(6) finding that Plaintiff sufficiently stated bad faith cause of action when making specific averments concerning insurer’s conduct of handling UIM claim.  Plaintiff specifically alleged Protective’s failure to investigate, failure to communicate, failure to evaluate, and misrepresentation to the insured as well as violation of Pennsylvania Insurance Department regulations.

Irving vs. State Farm, 2017 US Dist. LEXIS 164390 (E.D. Pa. Oct. 4, 2017) (Slomsky, J.) – Court granted State Farm’s Motion to Dismiss Plaintiff’s bad faith claims pursuant to F.R.Civ.P 12(b)(6).   Disagreement over the value of the UIM claim, without more, does not constitute bad faith.   Plaintiff granted leave to attempt to amend Complaint to state bad faith cause of action.

 

Summary Judgment

Defense and Indemnity Provided To Insured

State Auto Property vs. Stucky, 2017 W.V. LEXIS 759 (Oct. 10, 2017) (Ketchum, J.) West Virginia Supreme Court held that Plaintiff failed to state a bad faith claim as a matter of law where it was provided defense and indemnity in an underlying trespass suit.   Court observed that State Auto provided the insured, CMD, with a defense and settled the underlying tort suit for $325,000, well within the insured’s $1 million dollar policy limit.
Delays Processing UIM Claim,  Collection of Records,  Investigation

Radolfi vs. State Farm, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS, 165013 (M.D. Pa., Oct. 5, 2017) (Carlson, J.) – Court grants summary judgment in favor of State Farm in UIM claim,  holding no inference from which a finding of bad faith could be made.   The Court observed that while there were delays in processing the claim, including the collection and review of medical records, the delays were not attributable to State Farm.  The Court found that State Farm’s request to the Plaintiff’s attorney for medical records were not complied with, including requests for updated medical records.  The Court held that Plaintiff also failed to provide employment records despite making a claim for wage loss.  The Court also held that a new contractual bad faith cause of action was barred by the law of the case, in that it had previously dismissed a statutory bad faith claim, and that State Farm’s initial error in stating coverage limits to the insured did not constitute bad faith.

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W.Va. Supreme Court Finds Earth Movement Exclusion Unambiguous

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WEST VIRGINIA,  June 2  – The West Virginia Supreme Court  ruled that Erie Insurance was not liable to provide coverage to an insured business which claimed landslide damage, in part because the earth movement exclusion in the policy made no distinction between natural and artificial earth movement events.

In Erie Property and Casualty Ins. Co. v. Chaber, the Chabers’ motorcycle shop leased property and insured it with a policy issued by Erie Insurance Property and Casualty Co.  A Feb. 19, 2014, landslide caused damages to the property, including broken windows.  Erie engaged an expert who opined the damage was the result of seasonal climate change.  The insureds disputed the claim, and engaged an expert who said the loss was the result of improperly excavated ground.

The W.Va. Circuit Court granted judgment in favor of the Chabers in February 2016, holding that the insuring agreement did not unambiguously exclude manmade landslides.  The state Supreme Court reversed, however, and held that manmade landslides and natural events were both excluded from the Earth Movement Exclusion in the policy.  They also held that that an exception for glass breakage to the exclusion could  not be extended to cover all aspects of the loss.

Judge Margaret Workman wrote:

“A provision in an insurance policy that excludes a loss regardless of whether such loss is ‘caused by an act of nature or is otherwise caused’ is not ambiguous and excludes coverage for the loss whether it is caused by a man-made or a naturally-occurring event.”

The Court also found that while ensuing loss involving breakage of glass was covered via an exception to the Earth Movement Exclusion, the lower court misapplied that exception when it used it to require Erie to pay for the entire claim, calling the circuit court’s interpretation “unjustifiable.”

Erie Insurance Property and Casualty Ins. Co.  v. Chaber, No. 16-0490, W.Va. Supreme Court (Workman, J.)

 

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