Insurer bad faith is not always remediable in an action for breach of contract. In many jurisdictions, bad faith is a tort. In many other jurisdictions, bad faith is a statutory remedy only. Regardless of how insurer bad faith may be actionable in the courts of a given jurisdiction, at least one thing is a constant in all the cases: There must be an insurance contract.
As the Supreme Court of Ohio has put it: "Importantly, a bad-faith claim is not rooted in any particular text of the contract.... Consequently, the existence of an insurance contract is what causes the common-law rule to apply to particular entities." Scott Fetzer Co. v. Am. Home Assur. Co., ___ N.E.3d ___, No. 2022-0595, 2023 WL 7170739, at ¶ 23, p. *5, 2023-Ohio-3921 (Ohio Nov. 1, 2023) (emphasis added).
This case is among the new cases and statutes featured in DENNIS J. WALL, LITIGATION AND PREVENTION OF INSURER BAD FAITH (West Publishing Co. 3d Edition, 2024 Supplements in process).
Please read the disclaimer. This blog article ©2024 Dennis J. Wall. All rights reserved.
Comments