MARCH 2020 HAS BEEN A TIME TO ADMONISH PLAINTIFFS ABOUT BARE-BONES BAD FAITH PLEADINGS IN THE EASTERN DISTRICT (Philadelphia Federal)
In line with other recent case law from the Eastern District, two more Eastern District judges recently dismissed bad faith claims for failure to plead adequate facts beyond bare-bone allegations.
In Ridpath v. Progressive, Judge Pratter dismissed the insured’s bad faith claim because it rested “entirely on conclusory and bare-bones allegations.” Leave to file an amended complaint was given, provided the insured could rectify the deficient pleadings.
The complaint merely alleged, with no additional facts, that the insurer failed to negotiate the claim, failed to properly investigate and evaluate the claim, and failed to request a defense medical examination. The court looked to Judge Slomsky’s Kiessling and Toner decisions as guidance for the dismissal, as well as Judge Gardiner’s Atiyeh decision, Judge Leeson’s Krantz decision, Judge Caputo’s Sypeck decision, and Judge Baylson’s Eley decision.
Three days later, Eastern District Judge Darnell Jones dismissed a bad faith claim for failing to meet pleading standards. In that case, the insurer cited 10 other cases dismissing insurance bad faith claims.
Judge Jones cited to Judge Leeson’s Soldrich opinion for the proposition that when alleging unreasonable delay, specific facts must be alleged concerning the length of any allegedly unreasonable delay between notification and response. Judge Jones also cited to the Mozzo, Atiyeh, Blasetti and Eley cases as examples of conclusory bare-bones allegations with no factual support. Like the complaints in those cases, the instant complaint was lacking.
For example, the insured only made bare bones allegations that the insurer “failed to complete a prompt and thorough investigation of Plaintiff’s claim” and “fail[ed] to promptly provide a reasonable factual explanation of the basis for the denial of Plaintiff’s claim,” without alleging facts relating to the alleged delay, e.g., the length of time between the date of notice of the insured’s claim and the date the insurer responded.
The insured did not attempt to distinguish the insurer’s authorities. Rather, she relied upon a single case, 1009 Clinton Properties v. State Farm (discussed at length in this post), to argue her position. More than that, her complaint used the exact language found in the Clinton Properties complaint, verbatim.
Judge Jones stated, “While the court in [Clinton Properties] deemed those allegations sufficient, it surely did not intend to create a rule whereby all future plaintiffs could simply parrot the exact same allegations in order to survive a motion to dismiss.” Judge Jones then cited the basic pleading standards set out in Twombly and its progeny, and dismissed the bad faith claim without prejudice to amend that claim if the insured so chooses.
Date of Decision: March 19, 2020
Clapps v. State Farm Insurance Cos., U.S. District Court Eastern District of Pennsylvania Civil Action No. 19-3745, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 47800 (E.D. Pa. Mar. 19, 2020) (Jones, II, J.)
For those wanting to research further examples of federal pleading standards case law, here are this Blog’s category links to adequate and inadequate pleading cases.
