April 2009 Bad Faith Cases Bad Faith Action Possible In First Party Claim, Though Contractually Based Breach Of Fiduciary Duty Claim Is Not (Western District)
April 3, 2009
In Millwood v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company, a first party claim was at issue (involving a vandalized car). On the issue of common law breach of fiduciary duty, the court observed that there is such a contractually based duty, but that it only arises in the context of third party claims where an insurer is handling claims on behalf of its insured against another party. In a first party case, a fiduciary duty claim is simply redundant with the breach of contract claim.
The court then contrasted the redundant fiduciary duty theory with the bad faith statute. It stated that statutory bad faith is considered completely independent of the underlying contract claim, and so both may proceed simultaneously.
Date of Decision: February 5, 2009.
Millwood v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA, Civil Action No. 08-1698, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 8415 (W.D. Pa. Feb. 5, 2009) (Standish, J.)
Posted in PA - General Bad Faith and Litigation Issues
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