The West Virginia Supreme Court recently granted an insurer the extraordinary legal remedy of a writ of prohibition, awarding it an immediate dismissal of the insureds’ bad faith claims. State ex rel. Universal Underwriters Insurance Company v. Wilson, ___ S.E.2d ___, 2017 WL 2415343 (W. Va. Jun. 1, 2017). The court reasoned that because the insurer is defending the insureds in the underlying tort action, the insureds have not yet suffered any recoverable item of damages as necessary to make their bad faith claims ripe for adjudication. The defendants in the underlying tort lawsuit include Salvatore Cava, Salvatore’s father, Daniel Cava, and Daniel Cava’s business, Dan’s Car World, LLC d/b/a Dan Cava’s Toyota World (“Dan’s Car World”). The insurer’s policy…
Monthly Archives: June 2017
West Virginia Supreme Court: Bad Faith Claims Are Premature when the Insurer Is Providing a Defense
Posted in Bad Faith
Eastern District of California Dismisses Bad Faith Action, Where Misrepresentation Voids Policy
On June 6, 2017, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California found, consistent with longstanding California precedent, that a material misrepresentation made in the course of a coverage investigation voids coverage. The holding reaffirms the importance of the insurer’s investigation into claims it suspects may be fraudulent. The court also, again consistent with California precedent, declined to find any bad faith conduct in the absence of coverage. Young v. Progressive Casualty Insurance Co., No. 1:16-CV-01198-DWM, 2017 WL 2462497 (E.D. Cal. Jun. 6, 2017) concerned Young’s claim to Progressive for the theft of his motor home. His policy provided comprehensive coverage with an agreed value for the motorhome of $63,000 with no deductible. Law enforcement recovered the motor…
