JUNE 2017 BAD FAITH CASES: INSURED CANNOT PROFIT BY BRINGING A BAD FAITH CASE DUE TO THEIR OWN LACK OF ACTION DURING CLAIM HANDLING (Middle District)
This property loss case provides a good summary of basic bad faith law leading into its analysis of the facts, and then some strong language on bringing a bad faith claim where the insured’s own conduct led to the delays at issue.
Quoting the Court:
“To succeed on a bad faith claim, a Plaintiff must demonstrate “(1) that the insurer lacked a reasonable basis for denying benefits; and (2) that the insurer knew or recklessly disregarded its lack of reasonable basis.” Verdetto v. State Farm Fire and Casualty Company, 837 F.Supp 2d. 480, 484 (M.D.Pa. 2011), affirmed 510 Fed. Appx. 209, 2013 W.L. 175175 (3d. Cir. 2013)(quoting Klinger v. State Farm Mutual Insurance Company, 115 F.3d 230, 233 (3d. Cir. 1997). In addition, a Plaintiff must demonstrate bad faith by clear and convincing evidence. Polselli v. Nationwide Mutual Fire Insurance Company, 23 F.3d 747, 751 (3d. Cir. 1994). For an insurance company to show that it had a reasonable basis to deny or delay paying a claim it need not demonstrate that its investigation yielded the correct conclusion, or that its conclusion more likely than not was accurate. Krisa v. Equitable Life Assurance Company, 113 F.Supp 2d. 694, 704 (M.D.Pa. 2000). The insurance company is not required to show that “the process by which it reached its conclusion was flawless or that the investigatory methods it employed eliminated possibilities at odds with its conclusion.” Id. Instead, an insurance company must show that it conducted a review or investigation sufficiently thorough to yield a reasonable foundation for its action. Id. “The ‘clear and convincing’ standard requires that the Plaintiff show ‘that the evidence is so clear, direct, weighty and convincing as to enable a clear conviction without hesitation, about whether or not the defendants acted in bad faith.'” J.C. Penney Life Insurance Company v. Pilosi, 393 F.3d 356, 367 (3d. Cir. 2004).”
In this case, the insurer paid “no less than $347,000” for real and personal property loss from fire, with a remaining dispute over $17,000 for landscaping issues. That contract dispute could not be resolved on summary judgment. However, the bad faith claim was resolved on summary judgment, where the court found it “unthinkable” on the facts that a jury could find bad faith.
The bad faith claim centered on the timing of making payments for personal property loss (which had been ultimately paid to the policy limits). The court observed that the analytic framework for measuring claims of delay in making such payments began with the terms of the insurance policy itself. Unambiguous policy language placed most responsibility for the timing and amount of payments on actions required of the insureds. In this case, the insureds did not provide required documentation for over a year.
The court analyzed the history and concluded: “In short, Plaintiffs’ failure to perform their reporting duty under the contract impeded, wittingly or unwittingly, [the insurer’s] investigation of their claim. Thus, the delay in payment for the value of their personal property was a direct result of Plaintiffs’ failure to perform their contractual duties and, as such, may not serve as an appropriate basis for a finding of bad faith on Defendant’s part. Stated another way, Plaintiffs may not now seek to profit due to their lack of action.”
