Bad Faith Blog

Summary: The County unconstitutionally strip searched multiple arrestees between 1999 and 2002. Recognizing the defenseless nature of the case, Selective Insurance Company of America (Selective) and retained counsel, settled the case, funded the settlement, and then sued the County to recover the multiple deductibles paid. The courts below determined the County owed a deductible paid on its behalf, assessed all defense costs and fees to one plaintiff, and rejected the County’s bad faith claim. The highest court in New York affirmed.

Summary: Plaintiffs sued GEICO alleging it used arbitrary computer “rules” to determine personal injury protection (“PIP”) payments when a Delaware statute required GEICO to pay “reasonable and necessary” PIP benefits. The court initially certified classes to pursue counts for bad faith breach of contract, breach of the duty of good faith and fair dealing, and consumer fraud. Thereafter, the court granted summary judgment in favor of the defendant and against the plaintiffs’ class representative. Thereafter, the court denied the motion to substitute a class representative while at the same time granting the defendant’s motion to decertify the class primarily because the individual issues regarding the damages claims would predominate over any common questions of law or fact.

Summary: Professional liability insurer brought a declaratory judgment action against its insured, an accounting firm, seeking a declaration that it owed the insured no defense or obligation beyond its $100,000 sub-limit and seeking recovery of overpayments of defense costs above the sub-limit. The insured accounting firm filed counterclaims seeking a declaration that the insurer’s duty to defend and indemnify was not limited by the sub-limit and for bad faith. The United States District Court for Eastern District of Pennsylvania granted the insurer’s summary judgment motion for declaratory judgment and for recovery for over-payment. The insured appealed to the Third Circuit United States Court of Appeals and the Court of Appeals affirmed.

The Missouri Supreme Court affirmed the judgment against a liability insurer for extra-contractual damages in a declaratory judgment action originally filed by the insurer to determine coverage and defense obligations. The insurer was not allowed to challenge the reasonableness of its insured’s court-approved settlement and the judgment entered against the insurer for extra-contractual damages was upheld despite there being no bad faith claim asserted in the declaratory judgment action filed by the insurer.

Summary: Pella Corporation, an Iowa company, was a defendant in two class action cases in Illinois. Those cases alleged that Pella’s windows were defectively designed and manufactured. Liberty Mutual filed a declaratory judgment action in Iowa federal court contending it owed no coverage. The District Court ruled that Liberty Mutual had a duty to reimburse Pella’s defense costs, but denied Pella’s bad faith denial of coverage claim. The Eighth Circuit affirmed the bad faith ruling on appeal.