The law of bad faith reaches out to many areas of life and law. See the article on other areas touched by bad faith law posted here on Monday, June 28, 2021.
In CMR Constr. & Roofing, LLC v. Hartford Ins. Co. of Midw., No: 2:20-cv-695-JLB-NPM, 2021 WL 2632374 (M.D. Fla. June 25, 2021), a federal judge in Florida confronted another area where bad faith comes into play. Hartford untimely removed a case from Florida State Court to U.S. District Court. Hartford contended that the untimeliness of its removal should be excused because of the plaintiff's bad-faith conduct. Accepting that argument in any case will make untimely removal an exception to the statute of limitations and so, in effect, make removal timely.
Specifically in this case, Hartford contended that the plaintiff's delay in responding to certain discovery was in bad faith. It was not until Hartford got the plaintiff's discovery responses, Hartford said, that it became clear to Hartford that there was a ground for removal.
The District Judge disagreed on the evidence. While the plaintiff's conduct was not commendable, the federal judge did not find that it sunk to the level of bad faith. The Court accordingly granted the plaintiff's motion to remand the plaintiff's case to Florida State Court. CMR, 2021 WL 2632374, at *3-*4.
Removal and remand cases are discussed in the context of insurance bad faith claims in third-party cases in 1 DENNIS J. WALL, LITIGATION AND PREVENTION OF INSURER BAD FAITH § 5:57 (3d ed. West Publishing Co., 2021 Supps.) & in first-party cases in 2 ID. § 11:23.
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