Berg v. Nationwide Mut. Ins. Co., Inc.

44 A.3d 1164, 2012 Pa. Super. 88, 2012 WL 1313055, 2012 Pa. Super. LEXIS 169
CourtSuperior Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedApril 17, 2012
Docket12 MDA 2008
StatusPublished
Cited by68 cases

This text of 44 A.3d 1164 (Berg v. Nationwide Mut. Ins. Co., Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Superior Court of Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Berg v. Nationwide Mut. Ins. Co., Inc., 44 A.3d 1164, 2012 Pa. Super. 88, 2012 WL 1313055, 2012 Pa. Super. LEXIS 169 (Pa. Ct. App. 2012).

Opinions

OPINION BY

DONOHUE, J.:

Appellants, Daniel and Sheryl Berg (collectively, the “Bergs”), appeal from the entry of judgment after the trial court granted Appellee Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company, Inc.’s (“Nationwide”) motion for a directed verdict on the Bergs’ claims under Pennsylvania’s bad faith insurance statute, 42 Pa.C.S.A. § 8371. For the reasons set forth herein, we vacate the judgment and remand the case for a new trial.

On September 4, 1996, the Bergs’ 1996 Jeep Grand Cherokee was involved in an accident and sustained extensive damage. On the date of the accident, the Bergs were insured by a Nationwide automobile policy that covered, inter alia, losses “caused by collision or upset.” The Bergs elected to take the Jeep to Lindgren Chrysler-Plymouth, Inc. (“Lindgren”), a participating repair facility in Nationwide’s “Blue Ribbon Repair Service Program” (“BRRP”). The BRRP is Nationwide’s direct repair program, pursuant to which claimants may take their vehicles to a designated “Blue Ribbon” repair facility for appraisal and repair. The BRRP is an option to the more traditional method of claims processing, where the claimant obtains an appraisal from a third-party repair shop to institute the repair process. On or about December 30, 1996, after approximately four months of repairs, the Bergs’ vehicle was finally returned to them.

According to the Bergs, in October 1997 they received a telephone call from David Wert, a former employee of Lindgren, who advised them of possible structural repair failures to their Jeep. On January 23, 1998, the Bergs commenced the present action through the filing of a writ of summons against Lindgren and Nationwide. After pre-trial discovery, on May 4, 1998 the Bergs filed their initial complaint, and after a series of preliminary objections, the Bergs’ final amended complaint (the eighth) was filed on October 25, 1998. It asserted causes of action against Lindgren for breach of contract, negligence, breach of warranty, common law fraud, conspiracy, and violation of the catchall provision of the Uniform Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law, 73 P.S. § 201-2(4)(xxi) (“UTPCPL”).1 It asserted claims against [1168]*1168Nationwide for breach of contract, negligence, common law fraud, conspiracy, violation of the UTPCPL, and for insurance bad faith, 42 Pa.C.S.A. § 8371.

The trial court bifurcated the trial, with the first phase consisting of a jury trial on the Bergs’ claims for common law fraud, conspiracy, and liability under the UTPCPL, and the second phase a bench trial on the issues of treble damages under the UTPCPL and for claims pursuant to the insurance bad faith statute. The first phase began on December 13, 2004, and after five days of trial, the jury returned a verdict finding that both Lindgren and Nationwide had violated the catchall provision of the UTPCPL, and in favor of Lind-gren and Nationwide on the common law fraud and conspiracy claims. The jury awarded compensatory damages of $1,925 against Lindgren and $295 against Nationwide.

Lindgren and Nationwide both filed motions for post-trial relief, arguing that the jury’s verdict was inconsistent. In their arguments, Lindgren and Nationwide relied on Booze v. Allstate, 750 A.2d 877, 880 (Pa.Super.2000), for the proposition that liability under the catchall provision of the UTPCPL required a finding of common law fraud as a prerequisite to liability under the statute.2 According to Lindgren and Nationwide, the jury’s decision in their favor on the common law fraud claim necessitated a similar verdict on the UTPCPL claim as well. In a written opinion, the trial court disagreed for two reasons. First, the trial court ruled that Lindgren and Nationwide had waived this argument when they declined the trial court’s offer to have the jurors questioned regarding the possible inconsistency in their verdict. Trial Court Opinion, 4/7/05, at 10. Second, detailing Pennsylvania’s strong presumption of the consistency of verdicts, the trial court concluded that the jury could have decided, “that it would be more appropriate to find that Nationwide and Lindgren engaged in fraudulent or deceptive conduct in a consumer or business transaction which created a likelihood of confusion or misunderstanding, rather than simply common law fraud.”3 Id. at 9.

The phase two trial began on June 5, 2007, and after four days of testimony, Nationwide moved for a directed verdict. On July 10, 2007, after the submission of briefs and oral argument, the trial court granted Nationwide’s motion for directed verdict on the Bergs’ claims under the insurance bad faith statute (42 Pa.C.S.A. § 8371).4 On October 29, 2007, the trial court denied the Bergs’ motion for post-trial relief, and after entry of judgment on December 7, 2007, the Bergs filed a timely notice of appeal.5

[1169]*1169The Bergs raise five issues for our consideration and determination:

1. Was it reversible error to grant a directed verdict on the issue of statutory bad faith, after the jury found the insurer’s conduct violated the catchall provision under the UTPCPL in the first phase of the trial.
2. Was it reversible error to rule that this lawsuit, stemming from a first party collision claim, was not ‘an action arising under an insurance policy,’ simply because the insured[s] agreed to have their collision damage appraised and repaired by the insurer’s collision repair program which the insurer does not identify in the policy of insurance.
3. Was it reversible error to preclude evidence, in a non-jury phase of a bifurcated trial, when that evidence was relevant to prove the insurer implemented its secret, but well documented strategy to deter contingency-fee lawyers from representing claimants with small value claims by making the litigation too expensive. Specifically, did the trial court abuse its discretion when it precluded from evidence, during the non-jury trial phase, the $922,654.25 that the insurer paid its attorneys to defend this lawsuit over a failed collision claim.
4. Was it reversible error to find the insured[s] waived their right to obtain discoverable claim file entries improperly redacted pursuant to a false assertion of attorney-client privilege, where an Order of record required the insurer to produce all claim file materials protected by attorney-client privilege, and where a second Order was entered after the insured filed a motion for sanctions, and, notwithstanding the two Orders, the insurer nevertheless continued to conceal the evidence via a false assertion of privilege.
5.Was it reversible error to permit the insurer to use the attorney-client privilege as a shield and sword. Specifically, was it reversible error to permit the insurer to conceal numerous claim file entries pursuant to an asserted attorney-client privilege, and then to also permit the insurer to offer the same claim file as evidence to prove it had no knowledge of repair issues inasmuch as there was no reference to repair issues in the redacted claim file.

Bergs’ Brief at 5-6.

For their first two issues on appeal, the Bergs contend that the trial court’s two reasons for entering a directed verdict in favor of Nationwide were in error. In its Pa.R.A.P.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Brand, D. v. Brand, L.
Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2025
SHURELDS v. SAFECO INSURANCE
E.D. Pennsylvania, 2025
Alvord Polk, Inc. v. Strickler Agency, Inc.
Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2025
OKH-PHL1, LLC v. Gabe, G.
Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2024
Holland, G. v. The Physical Therapy Institute
Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2023
Fisher, H. v. Erie Insurance Exchange
2021 Pa. Super. 130 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2021)
Rogers, G. v. Thomas, L.
2021 Pa. Super. 93 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2021)
CLL Academy, Inc. v. Academy House Council
2020 Pa. Super. 89 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2020)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
44 A.3d 1164, 2012 Pa. Super. 88, 2012 WL 1313055, 2012 Pa. Super. LEXIS 169, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/berg-v-nationwide-mut-ins-co-inc-pasuperct-2012.