APRIL 2014 BAD FAITH CASES: THIRD CIRCUIT AFFIRMS RULING THAT BAD FAITH CLAIMS CANNOT BE ASSIGNED, AT LEAST IN CONTEXT WHERE ASSIGNEE WAS ATTORNEY OF INSURED; AND FURTHER HELD THAT INSURER REJECTING UM ARBITRATION RESULT, BY ITSELF, CANNOT MEET REQUIREMENTS TO PROVE BAD FAITH (ThirdCircuit)

In Feingold v. Liberty Mutual Group, the Third Circuit affirmed the District Court’s holding that an attorney claiming he was partially assigned his client’s bad faith claim had no standing, as bad faith claims were in the nature of unassignable personal injury claims under Pennsylvania law. The court also found that the insured’s estate did not offer sufficient evidence to overcome the insurer’s summary judgment motion. The only fact offered was that the insurer had rejected an arbitration in an uninsured motorist case. This alone could not be the basis for bad faith.

Date of Decision: April 4, 2014

Feingold v. Liberty Mut. Group, No. 13-1977, No. 13-1978, 2014 U.S. App. LEXIS 6247, (3d Cir. April 4, 2014) (Greenaway, Jr., J.)