JUNE 2009 BAD FAITH CASES NO BAD FAITH CLAIM WHERE NO DUTY TO DEFEND OR INDEMNIFY UNDER POLICY EXCLUSIONS (Philadelphia Federal)
In Pincus v. Chubb Group of Ins. Companies, the insured was sued for sexually assaulting the plaintiff, after luring her into his limousine and then taking her to another location for the attack. The court found that the claims were excluded under the intentional acts exclusion and that a claim concerning common carrier status was likewise excluded from coverage as a business pursuit. As to the bad faith claim, the court state that the bad faith claim “necessarily fails when the court makes ‘a determination that there was no duty to defend, because the court’s determination that there was no potential coverage means that the insurer had good cause to refuse to defend.’” Thus, the carrier in this case did not act in bad faith.
