Barry v. Nationwide Mut. Ins. Co.

298 F. Supp. 3d 826
District Court, D. Maryland·Decided February 6, 2018·No. CIVIL NO. JKB–17–3070·Published·Cited by 18 cases

Opinion

James K. Bredar, Chief Judge

Plaintiffs Amanda and Sean Barry brought this action against Mrs. Barry's insurer, Defendant Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company and, after amending their complaint on December 7, 2017, now assert two Counts. (See Am. Compl., ECF No. 17.) In Count I, Plaintiffs allege that Defendant breached its insurance contract with Mrs. Barry, and in Count II, Plaintiffs allege that Defendant failed to act in good faith in handling her claim in violation of Maryland Code (2013 Repl. Vol.), § 3-1701 of the Courts and Judicial Procedures Article. (Id. ) Before the Court is Defendant's motion to dismiss Count II under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6). (See Mot. Dismiss, ECF No. 19). Plaintiffs have responded in opposition (ECF No. 21) and Defendant has replied (see Am. Reply, Line Filing Ex. 1, ECF No. 23-1).1 The motion is therefore ripe for review, and there is no need for a hearing to resolve the matter. See Local Rule 105.6 (D. Md. 2016). Plaintiff has sufficiently stated a claim for failure to act in good faith, and therefore Defendant's motion will be denied by accompanying order.

I. Background

Amanda Barry was injured on July 27, 2014 when Jamil Beale crashed into her *828vehicle in Baltimore City. (Am. Compl. ¶¶ 5-9.) As a result of this crash, Mrs. Barry suffered various harms, including "a hand fracture, lost wages, and loss of consortium." (Id. ¶ 9.) Mr. Beale was insured by GEICO Insurance Company ("GEICO") at $30,000 per person/$60,000 per occurrence. (Id. ¶ 10.) GEICO offered Mrs. Barry the full policy limits of Mr. Beale's policy, i.e. $30,000, as a settlement. (Id. ¶ 11.) Mrs. Barry and her husband Sean Barry (collectively, "Plaintiffs") had an insurance policy with Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company ("Defendant") which included $100,000 in uninsured motorist ("UIM") insurance. (Id. ¶ 14; see Insurance Policy 8, Am. Compl. Ex. 1, ECF No. 17-2.) On August 12, 2016, Plaintiffs' counsel sent Defendant notice of the settlement offer and requested permission to accept it. (Id. ¶ 11; Section 19-511 letter, Am. Compl. Ex. 2, ECF No. 17-3.) Under Maryland Code (2017 Repl. Vol.), § 19-511 of the Insurance Article (" Section 19-511"), if an insurer offers a settlement to a victim that would exhaust the insurance policy, and if the victim has UIM insurance, the victim must send notice of that settlement to her UIM insurance provider. See Md. Code Ann. Ins. Art. § 19-511(b). The UIM insurance provider must then respond, within sixty days, either consenting to the acceptance of that settlement offer or refusing to consent to such offer. Id. § 19-511(c).

It was not until November 30, 2016, over 100 days after receipt of Plaintiffs' counsel's letter (the " Section 19-511 letter"),2 that Defendant responded to Plaintiffs' counsel. (Am. Compl. ¶ 12; November 30 letter, Am. Compl. Ex. 3, ECF No. 17-4.) In this letter, Defendant's agent permitted Plaintiffs' counsel to accept the settlement offer. (See November 30 letter.)3 Defendant's agent also introduced herself, and stated that she was handling the claim. (Id. ) At some point, Plaintiff requested that Defendant pay out the entire $100,000 policy. (See id. ¶ 34.) On December 22, 2016 Defendant offered Mrs. Barry $33,924.00, and "refused to negotiate further." (Id. ) Defendant "did not dispute any of the injuries, medical treatment, bills or lost wages," and did not provide "any explanation or supporting documentation to justify [its] evaluation." (Id. )

On March 17, 2017, Mrs. Barry filed a complaint with the Maryland Insurance Administration ("MIA"), alleging that Defendant had failed to act in good faith in handling her claim. (Am. Compl. ¶ 23.) On May 8, 2017 the MIA found that Defendant did not breach its contract with Mrs. Barry and Defendant had not failed to act in good faith. (Id. ¶ 24.)4 Plaintiffs filed *829this action against Defendant in the Circuit Court for Baltimore City on July 3, 2017, asserting breach of contract and lack of good faith. (See Notice of Removal, ECF No. 1; Compl., ECF No. 2.) Defendant was served process on October 6, 2017 and removed the case to this Court on October 27. (See Notice of Removal.) After Defendant filed a motion to dismiss, Plaintiffs amended their complaint and Defendant filed a second motion to dismiss Count II of the Amended Complaint, which purports to state a claim for failure to act in good faith. (See Mot. Dismiss.) Defendant has answered Count I. (See Answer, ECF No. 20.) Defendant's motion has been fully briefed and is now properly before the Court.

II. Standard for Motion to Dismiss

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Barry v. Nationwide Mut. Ins. Co., 298 F. Supp. 3d 826 (D. Md. 2018).

298 F. Supp. 3d 826 (Barry v. Nationwide Mut. Ins. Co.) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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