Balzer v. American Family Insurance

805 F. Supp. 2d 618, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 32701, 2011 WL 1158447
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Indiana
DecidedMarch 28, 2011
DocketCase No. 2:08-CV-241-TS
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 805 F. Supp. 2d 618 (Balzer v. American Family Insurance) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Indiana primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Balzer v. American Family Insurance, 805 F. Supp. 2d 618, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 32701, 2011 WL 1158447 (N.D. Ind. 2011).

Opinion

OPINION AND ORDER

THERESA L. SPRINGMANN, District Judge.

After the Plaintiff, Christopher Balzer, was injured in a car accident and settled his injury claim with the other driver’s insurance company, he pursued an under-insured motorist (UIM) claim with his insurer, Defendant American Family Insurance Company. American Family declined to offer the Plaintiff any additional money for his claim and the Plaintiff filed this suit alleging breach of the insurance contract, negligence, and bad faith and seeking compensatory and punitive damages. This matter is before the Court on the Defendant’s Motion for Partial Summary Judgment [ECF No. 44]. The Defendant seeks judgment as a matter of law on the Plaintiffs bad faith, breach of contract, and punitive damages claims.1 The Motion has been fully briefed and is ripe for this Court’s consideration and ruling.2

[621]*621STANDARD OF REVIEW

The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure state that a “court shall grant summary judgment if the movant shows that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Fed. R.Civ.P. 56(a).3 The motion should be granted so long as no rational fact finder could return a verdict in favor of the party opposing the motion. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). A court’s role is not to evaluate the weight of the evidence, to judge the credibility of witnesses, or to determine the truth of the matter, but instead to determine whether there is a genuine issue of triable fact. Anderson, 477 U.S. at 249-50, 106 S.Ct. 2505; Doe v. R.R. Donnelley & Sons Co., 42 F.3d 439, 443 (7th Cir.1994). The party seeking summary judgment bears the initial burden of proving there is no genuine issue of material fact. Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 323, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986); see also N.D. Ind. L.R. 56.1(a) (stating that the movant must provide a “Statement of Material Facts” that identifies the facts that the moving party contends are not genuinely disputed). In response, the nonmoving party cannot rest on bare pleadings alone but must use the evidentiary tools listed in Rule 56 to designate specific material facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial. Celotex, 477 U.S. at 324, 106 S.Ct. 2548; Insolia v. Philip Morris Inc., 216 F.3d 596, 598 (7th Cir.2000); N.D. Ind. L.R. 56.1(b) (directing that a response in opposition to a motion for summary judgment must include “a section labeled ‘Statement of Genuine Disputes’ that identifies the material facts that the party contends are genuinely disputed so as to make a trial necessary”). According to Rule 56:

A party asserting that a fact cannot be or is genuinely disputed must support the assertion by:
(A) citing to particular parts of materials in the record, including depositions, documents, electronically stored information, affidavits or declarations, stipulations (including those made for purposes of the motion only), admissions, interrogatory answers, or other materials; or
(B) showing that the materials cited do not establish the absence or presence of a genuine dispute, or that an adverse party cannot produce admissible evidence to support the fact.

Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c)(1).

Although a bare contention that an issue of fact exists is insufficient to create a factual dispute, the court must construe all facts in a light most favorable to the non-moving party, view all reasonable inferences in that party’s favor, see Bellaver v. [622]*622Quanex Corp., 200 F.3d 485, 492 (7th Cir.2000), and avoid “the temptation to decide which party’s version of the facts is more likely true,” Shepherd v. Slater Steels Corp., 168 F.3d 998, 1009 (7th Cir.1999). See also Payne v. Pauley, 337 F.3d 767, 770 (7th Cir.2003) (noting the often stated proposition that “summary judgment cannot be used to resolve swearing contests between litigants”). A material fact must be outcome determinative under the governing law. Insolia, 216 F.3d at 598-99. “Irrelevant or unnecessary facts do not deter summary judgment, even when in dispute.” Harney v. Speedway SuperAmerica, LLC, 526 F.3d 1099, 1104 (7th Cir.2008).

FACTUAL BACKGROUND

On the morning of November 16, 2006, the Plaintiff was driving to work when Richard Colburn drove directly into his path. The Plaintiff T-boned Colburn’s vehicle, sustaining about $2,700 in damages to his own vehicle. The Plaintiff was able to drive his truck away from the scene, repair the damages, and drive it for years later. The crash caused the Plaintiff to hit the back of his head against the rear window of his truck.4 He told the responding police officers that he hit his head and it was sore but that he didn’t think much of it. The Plaintiff declined the officers’ offer to call an ambulance, saying that his head hurt some, but he thought it would be okay. He was shaken up. The Plaintiff did not go to an emergency room, but he did see his doctor later that day.

At the time of the accident, Colburn carried insurance with State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company of Bloomington, Illinois. Colburn’s policy with State Farm contained a liability limit of $100,000 per person. The Plaintiff negotiated his claim with State Farm for seventeen months after the accident. By letter dated May 1, 2008, the Plaintiff, through his attorney Terrence Rubino, notified the Defendant that State Farm had tendered the policy limits of $100,000 in settlement of the Plaintiffs claim against Colburn and requested that the Defendant grant him permission to accept the settlement. In addition to requesting consent to accept State Farm’s settlement offer, Rubino stated that he was enclosing a copy of the Plaintiffs Specials Summary and medical records for review and evaluation in furtherance of a UIM claim. The Specials Summary showed that the Plaintiff had incurred $25,030.77 in medical expenses. The letter did not indicate how much compensation the Plaintiff was seeking for the UIM claim.

There was no dispute that Colburn was solely at fault in causing the crash. On May 29, the Defendant gave the Plaintiff permission to accept State Farm’s the tender without compromising his UIM claim. The Defendant, without being asked, also waived any subrogation rights to recover $5,000 that it had previously paid to the Plaintiffs medical providers.5 The Plaintiffs policy with the Defendant included UIM coverage as follows:

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805 F. Supp. 2d 618, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 32701, 2011 WL 1158447, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/balzer-v-american-family-insurance-innd-2011.