In a surprising decision on rehearing, on February 4, 2019, a panel of the Louisiana Third Circuit Court of Appeal reversed itself and held that bad faith claims arising out of an insurance contract are subject to a ten-year prescriptive period rather than a one-year prescriptive period.[1] Fils v. Starr Indemnity & Liability Company, — so. 3d — (La. App. 3rd Cir. 5/9/2018)(on r’hrg), centered on the timeliness of the plaintiff’s bad faith claims against his uninsured motorist carrier. Dissatisfied with the $45,000 that his UM carrier had tendered following a motor vehicle accident on August 28, 2013, the policyholder filed suit against the insurer for additional benefits the day before the expiration of the two-year prescriptive period applicable to…
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In Rhode Island, No Duty of Good Faith to Third Party Claimant
In Summit Insurance Company v. Stricklett, — A.3d —, No. 2017185APPEALPC12536, 2019 WL 190358, (R.I. Jan. 15, 2019), the Supreme Court of Rhode Island held that – similar to many jurisdictions – the duty to act in a reasonable manner and in good faith settling a claim does not run to the claimant absent an assignment from the insured. The facts of Stricklett are simple. Mr. Stricklett’s vehicle was insured by Summit under a policy with a $25,000 per person, $50,000 per accident coverage limit. In 2002, Stricklett allegedly collided with eleven-year-old Scott Alves, requiring that Alves undergo medical treatment. Alves’s parents submitted the medical bill to Summit Insurance Company, who investigated the incident and determined that Stricklett was not…
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