MARCH 2016 BAD FAITH CASES: BAD FAITH CLAIM NOT SUBJECT TO REMAND IN LIGHT OF POTENTIAL PUNITIVE DAMAGES UNDER BAD FAITH STATUTE (Philadelphia Federal)
In West Chester University Foundation v. Metlife Insurance Company, the court had to decide a motion to remand after the case has been removed from the Court of Common Pleas of Chester County. The court’s focus was on the potential punitive damages claim in the statutory Bad Faith count, as pushing the potential claim over the $75,000 jurisdictional minimum. It found that under applicable case law, a punitive damage award on a potential $57,000 claim (the number the court had calculated) would put the case over the jurisdictional minimum, and declined the motion to remand. The court observed attorney’s fees were also available for statutory Bad Faith, but did not need to speculate about potential attorney’s fees to make its decision.
