The court ruled in the case of Lonnie Dupuis v. American Sec. Ins. Co., No. 6:21-CV-01154, 2021 WL 3520514, at *1-*3 (W.D. La. August 10, 2021), that Mr. Dupuis was neither an insured or an intended third-party beneficiary capable of enforcing the contract of lender force-placed insurance. Mr. Dupuis's claims for coverage for Hurricane losses were dismissed. This is a common result in lender force-placed insurance cases, but the results depend on the wording of the insurance policy involved.
In the Dupuis case, the court also dismissed a claim for insurer bad faith on the ground that where there is no coverage, there can be no bad faith. The court granted leave to amend, however, as this case is "in its infancy[.]" Dupuis, 2021 WL 3520514, at *3.
In another case the plaintiff claimed insurance coverage for alleged losses caused by COVID. The court in this case, too, denied coverage. Identity Dental Mktg., LLC v. Twin City Fire Ins. Co., No. 20-cv-06883, 2021 WL 35242111, at *3-*4 (N.D. Ill. July 19, 2021). As with force-placed insurance policies, the results depend on the wording of the insurance policy involved.
In the Identity Dental case, too, the court granted leave to amend. That would necessarily include Identity Dental's "bad faith claim," i.e., its claim for bad faith damages under 215 ILCS 5/155 for vexatiously denying coverage. The court ruled that where there is no coverage, there are no Section 155 damages. Identity Dental, 2021 WL 35242111, at *4. As noted, the court granted leave to amend one time, giving Identity Dental "one opportunity to amend if it can." Identity Dental, 2021 WL 35242111, at *5.
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