DECEMBER 2008 BAD FAITH CASES TWO YEAR LIMITATIONS PERIOD BEGINS WITH DENIAL OF CLAIM (Philadelphia Federal)

In Atiyeh v. National Fire Insurance Company, the Court noted that Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court holds that statutory bad faith claims are subject to a two-year statute of limitations pursuant to 42 Pa.C.S.A. § 5524, but the court did not specify when the cause of action accrues. Ash v. Continental Insurance Company, 593 Pa. 523, 536, 932 A.2d 877, 884 (2007). The Third Circuit Court of Appeals has predicted that the Pennsylvania Supreme Court would find that the limitations period beings to run when coverage is denied. Sikirica v. Nationwide Insurance Company, 416 F.3d 214, 224-225 (3d Cir. 2005).

Date of Decision: September 30, 2008

Atiyeh v. Nat’l Fire Ins. Co., Civil Action No. 07-cv-04798, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 76770 (E.D. Pa. Sept. 30, 2008) ( Gardner, J.)

 

L.A.