February 2017 Bad Faith Cases: Use of Umbrella Trade Name Does Not Demonstrate Bad Faith (New Jersey Federal)

The insureds move to remand this New Jersey federal action back to Superior Court. The insureds argued at one point that the insurer defendants, “anticipating a lawsuit, acted in bad faith, using the name ‘Chubb Insurance’ in correspondence to mislead them into naming a defendant that is not a legal entity.” The court stated that: “An entity’s use of an umbrella trade or business name that differs from its legal name does not in itself demonstrate bad faith.”

Date of Decision: December 9, 2016

Fischer v. Chubb Ins., No. 16-8220, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 170590 (D.N.J. Dec. 9, 2016) (McNulty, J.)