COURT EXCLUDES EXPERT REPORT BEFORE TRIAL, AND REINSTATES BAD FAITH CLAIM THAT HAD BEEN DISMISSED ON THE BASIS OF THAT EXPERT REPORT (Middle District)
This is a breach of contract and bad faith disability benefits case. The court originally granted the insurer summary judgment on bad faith, based on a defense medical expert report that plaintiff could go back to work in his field (dentistry). Reliance of this report had established the insurer’s reasonableness in denying the claim.
On motions in limine and a Daubert hearing before trial, however, the court ruled the insurer’s same medical expert was not qualified to opine on the insured’s ability to continue working. It excluded this expert’s medical testimony. Soon after, the court reconsidered its earlier bad faith ruling, and reinstated the bad faith claim on plaintiff’s motion. The court stated: “Given that [the expert] can no longer give his expert opinion as an independent medical examiner that [the insured] was no longer disabled, the evidence in the record does not establish as a matter of law that Defendants ‘had a reasonable basis to deny [the insured’s] claim.’”
The insurer then moved for reconsideration, and the court denied that motion, allowing the bad faith claim to proceed.
Further opening the door on bad faith, the insured was now permitted to testify about his personal beliefs on the insured’s intentions during claims handling and the reasonableness of the insurer’s conduct, the insurer’s requiring certain testing on plaintiff, and the reasonableness of how the insurer’s expert conducted that testing. The insured’s credibility could be challenged at trial on these issues. The insured could not testify, however, about his own internet research into the insurer’s claim handling history, “given [the insurer’s] recent reforms to its claim handling procedures.”
For purposes of defending the bad faith claims, the insurer could still use evidence of certain excluded expert opinions, even though these experts were found unqualified for other purposes. These reports remained relevant to show what the insurer relied upon during the denial process, and in “considering [the insured’s] credibility in bringing his disability claim.”
Date of Decision: October 4, 2019
Brugler v. Unum Group, U. S. District Court Middle District of Pennsylvania No. 4:15-CV-01031, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 172587, 2019 WL 4917922 (M.D. Pa. Oct. 4, 2019) (Brann, J.)
