JULY 2014 BAD FAITH CASES: CONTRACTUAL LIMITATIONS PERIOD DID NOT APPLY TO STATUTORY BAD FAITH CLAIMS; BUT CLAIM STILL DISMISSED FOR FAILING TO MEET TWOMBLY STANDARDS (Philadelphia Federal)

In Mattia v. Allstate Insurance Company, the case involved a first party property damage claim. The policy had a contractual one year commencement of suit period. The court found that this contractual limitations period was permissible under Pennsylvania law, in altering the normal 4 year statute of limitations period. However, following the trend in the case law, it further found that the contractual limitations period did not apply to claims under 42 Pa.C.S. § 8371, because this represented a distinct cause of action. However, the bad faith claim in this case was still dismissed because it only included bare bones allegations that did not meet the Twombly pleading standards.

Date of Decision (June 24, 2014)

Mattia v. Allstate Ins. Co., CIVIL ACTION NO. 14-20992014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 86258 (E.D.Pa. June 24, 2014) (Surrick, J.)