BAD FAITH STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS NOT TOLLED, OR RENEWED, BY CHANGE IN THE LAW ON COVERAGE; NO PLAUSIBLE CLAIM PLEADED; BAD FAITH POSSIBLE EVEN IF BENEFIT NOT DUE (Philadelphia Federal)
This UIM case was stimulated by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s recent decision reversing precedent on the household vehicle exclusion. In dismissing the bad faith claim, the court found:
The two-year statute of limitations was not tolled by a change in the law.
The change in the law, which resulted in the insured renewing her demand for coverage, did not re-start the statute of limitations.
Alternatively, the insured failed to plead sufficient facts to set forth a plausible bad faith claim; rather she only made a few conclusory allegations.
The court did have a significant footnote, which addresses the long-standing debate over whether there can be statutory bad faith where no coverage is due. Judge Pappert clearly comes down on the side that bad faith can still exist, noting that “a claim for bad faith pursuant to 42 Pa. C.S. § 8371 is a separate and distinct cause of action and is not contingent on the resolution of the underlying contract claim. … Thus, if bad faith is asserted as to conduct beyond a denial of coverage, the bad faith claim is actionable as to that conduct regardless of whether the contract claim survives.” As we have noted before on this blog, other courts dispute this view.
Date of Decision: July 3, 2019
O’Brien v. GEICO Employees Insurance Co., U. S. District Court Eastern District of Pennsylvania CIVIL ACTION NO. 19-01920, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 110914 (E.D. Pa. July 3, 2019) (Pappert, J.)
