NOVEMBER 2007 BAD FAITH CASES BAD FAITH CLAIMS RELATES BACK TO ORIGINAL PRO SE COMPLAINT AND IS NOT TIME BARRED (Middle District)
A policy beneficiary brought claims, alleging that the carrier had never investigated the death of his brother in Ghana. He filed a pro se complaint, which was dismissed with leave to amend. He obtained counsel who sued for bad faith and breach of contract. The carrier sought to dismiss the bad faith claim on statute of limitations grounds, claiming it was raised for the first time in the amended complaint. The insured took the position the claim should relate back to the original filing under Rule 15.
The court found that notice of the bad faith claim did exist in the original pro se complaint, which should be construed liberally as a pro se complaint, and that the claim now pleaded did state a claim for relief.
Date of Decision: October 11, 2007
Bonsu v. Jackson National Life Insurance, United States District Court of the Middle District of Pennsylvania, No. 05-2444, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 79267 (M.D. Pa. October 11, 2007) (Conner, J.)
