Auman v. Erie Insurance

43 Pa. D. & C.5th 97
CourtPennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Lebanon County
DecidedAugust 7, 2014
DocketNo. 2011-00922
StatusPublished

This text of 43 Pa. D. & C.5th 97 (Auman v. Erie Insurance) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Lebanon County primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Auman v. Erie Insurance, 43 Pa. D. & C.5th 97 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2014).

Opinion

TYLWALK, P.J.,

1. Pursuant to Pa.R.C.P. No. 1035.2, a party may move for summary judgment when the evidentiary record reveals that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.

2. Summary judgment may be granted only in cases where the right is clear and free from doubt. The moving [99]*99party has the burden of proving the nonexistence of any genuine issue of material fact. The court is required to view the record in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party and all doubts as to the existence of a genuine issue of material fact must be resolved against the moving party.

3. Where the non-moving party bears the burden of proof on an issue, he may not merely rely on his pleadings or answers in order to survive summary judgment; rather, he must present depositions, affidavits, or other acceptable documents that show the existence of factual issues for the jury’s consideration.

4. The court ruled that the plaintiffs had come forth with sufficient evidence to indicate the existence of factual disputes which precluded the entry of summary judgment on the count for breach of contract.

5. In order to establish a claim under the Unfair Trade Practices Law, a plaintiff must prove that the defendant was engaged in unfair methods of competition and unfair or deceptive acts or practices and that the transaction between the plaintiff and defendant constituted trade or commerce within the meaning of the Unfair Trade Practices Law.

6. The insurance industry is a trade or commerce within the coverage of the Unfair Trade Practices Law.

7. Under Pennsylvania law, only malfeasance, the improper performance of a contractual obligation, raises a cause of action under the Unfair Trade Practices law.

8. An insurer may be held liable only if there are fraudulent misrepresentations in order to sell a policy or some other form of misfeasance; an insurer is not liable for a simple failure to perform, which amounts to nonfeasance.

[100]*1009. The court stated that the essence of plaintiffs’ claim is that defendant failed to perform its duty to update the coverage as construction costs increased over time and that this failure to perform constitutes nonfeasance, not malfeasance of defendant’s alleged duties. Consequently, there is no cause of action under the Unfair trade Practices Law and the court granted summary judgment on this claim.

10. An expert witness is a witness who possesses knowledge not within ordinary reach or understanding, and who, because of this knowledge, is specially qualified to address a particular subject. An expert may offer an opinion on a subject which is so distinctly related to some science, profession, business or occupation, that it is beyond the understanding of the average layperson.

11. The primary purpose of expert testimony is to assist the trier of fact in understanding complicated matters. Necessity is fundamental to the admissibility of opinion evidence. If the facts can be fully and accurately described to the fact-finder, who, without special knowledge or training, is able to estimate the bearing of those facts on the issues in the case, then the opinions of witnesses are inadmissible because they are unnecessary in the search for truth.

12. Although the court agreed that there are many situations in which expert testimony is necessary to sustain a cause of action asserted by an insured against an insurance agent, it did not believe that this case is one since the issues are simply whether defendant agreed to keep the plaintiffs’ coverage abreast with the rise in construction and other replacement costs and, if so, whether it was negligent for failing to do so. Consequently, the court denied defendant’s motion for summary judgment on [101]*101plaintiffs’ count for negligence.

ORDER OF COURT

And now, this 7th day of August, 2014, upon consideration of the motion for summary judgment of Consolidated Insurance Services, Inc., it is hereby ordered that said motion is granted, in part, and denied, in part as follows:

1. The motion for summary judgment with regard to plaintiffs’ claim for breach of contract in Count Two of the complaint is denied.

2. The motion for summary judgment with regard to plaintiffs’ claim for violation of the Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law in Count Five of the complaint is granted.

3. The motion for summary judgment with regard to plaintiffs’ claim for negligence in Count Six of the complaint is denied.

Before us is the motion for summary judgment submitted by defendant Consolidated Insurance Services, Inc. (“consolidated”). The pleadings and the record provided by the parties reveal the following facts relevant to our resolution of this motion.

Plaintiffs William F. Auman, Jr. and Carole M. Auman (“the Aumans”) purchased their home at 720 Kimmerlings Road, Lebanon in April 1978. At that time, they purchased a homeowner’s insurance policy for the property from defendant Erie Insurance through a local insurance agent, Reist Insurance Agency (‘Reist”). The Declaration Page of the policy states: “AUTOMATIC ADJUSTMENT OF COVERAGE WAS APPLIED TO DWLG” (Complaint, Exhibit “B”) The policy also provides:

[102]*102Right and duties — conditions — Section 1, paragraph (3) Automatic adjustment of coverage amounts
This policy provides you with a guard against the effect of inflation in construction costs.
We will keep track of costs and at the next policy period we will adjust the amount of your building coverage if necessary. Adjustments in other coverages (Other structures coverage and personal property coverage) will also be made proportionately. Your premium will be adjusted at each policy period to reflect any change in the amount of insurance.
During the policy period, if there is an increase in construction costs and a loss occurs, we will reflect the increase in the amount of insurance before making payment. There will be no charge for this additional coverage.
However, if for any reason other than inflation or construction costs, the amount of your insurance on your home becomes inadequate, or if you made substantial improvement to your home and failed to notify us to increase the amount of your insurance, the amount of insurance shown on the declarations will be the full amount available should a loss occur.

(Plaintiffs’ brief in opposition to consolidated’s motion for summary judgment, Exhibit “A” at p. 12) At the time of the fire, the declarations page of the policy indicated that the “amount of insurance” for the Aumans’ dwelling was $150,500. (Complaint, Para. 21; plaintiffs’ brief in opposition to consolidated’s motion for summaiy judgment, Exhibit “A” at p. 12)

Consolidated’s motion for summaiy judgment avers [103]*103consolidated came into existence when its owners purchased Reist in 1986. However, documents filed with the Pennsylvania Department of State, Bureau of Corporations, reflects that Reist’s name had been changed to consolidated in 1984, two years earlier. The Aumans renewed the policy and paid their annual premiums through 2010. The complaint avers that the annual premiums increased during the years the policy was in effect.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
43 Pa. D. & C.5th 97, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/auman-v-erie-insurance-pactcompllebano-2014.