The Pennsylvania Bad Faith Statute, 42 Pa. Cons. Stat. Section 8137, does not include a Statute of Limitations.
Claims brought under the Pennsylvania Bad Faith Statute have been held to be subject to the two-year Statute of Limitations for Tort actions. Download Sikora v. State Farm Insurance Co. (W.D. Pa Opinion filed 08.04.09), attached Official Slipsheet Opinion at 4-5.
Pennsylvania Statutory Bad Faith Claims have been held to begin when the Insurance Company denied the Insured's Claim in Bad Faith. Download Sikora v. State Farm Insurance Co. (W.D. Pa Opinion filed 08.04.09), at 5.
In the Sikora case, Mr. Sikora filed a Claim with State Farm for Underinsured Motorist (or "UIM") Benefits on September 12, 2005. State Farm wrote to Mr. Sikora in a December 27, 2005 letter that it did not consider him to be its "Insured" and that it was not going to provide him with Coverage. Mr. Sikora filed a Bad Faith Claim on June 23, 2008.
On these facts, Mr. Sikora's Bad Faith Claim under the Pennsylvania Statute was held to have been presented "almost six months after the two-year statute of limitations had run." Accordingly, the Federal Court granted State Farm's Motion for Partial Summary Judgment on Mr. Sikora's Pennsylvania Statutory Bad Faith Claim. Download Sikora v. State Farm Insurance Co. (W.D. Pa Opinion filed 08.04.09), at 5-6.
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Can my doctor be charged for acting in Bad Faith if he refused to comment on my heath during an erisa case investigation?
Posted by: Tim | September 10, 2012 at 02:48 PM
Your question is on an issue that is not addressed in this blog. From what you wrote, it sounds like you might benefit from contacting a lawyer in your locality and in this subject area with your question. Best wishes.
Posted by: Dennis Wall | September 19, 2012 at 02:24 PM