MAY 2014 BAD FAITH CASES: THERE CAN BE NO BREACH OF THE CONTRACTUAL COVENANT OF GOOD FAITH AND FAIR DEALING WHERE THERE IS NO CONTRACT BETWEEN PLAINTIFF AND DEFENDANT (New Jersey Federal)
In Zodda v. National Union Fire Insurance Company, the plaintiff alleged various claims based on an accident disability insurance policy. The court observed in regard to one defendant’s motion to dismiss that the plaintiff had made claims against four sets of defendants, but had not properly distinguished conduct as to each of them in the complaint.
In regards to the claims for breach of the contractual covenant of good faith and fair dealing in relation to the insurance policy, one defendant moved to dismiss, observing that the plaintiff never pleaded that his decedent had any contract with this defendant; nor had he pleaded any clear contractual relation between the moving defendant and any other defendant. In the absence of a contract there can be no breach of the contractual duty of good faith and fair dealing, and the claim was dismissed.
