Chambers v. Allstate Insurance

206 F.R.D. 579, 52 Fed. R. Serv. 3d 1183, 2002 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12034, 2002 WL 1033837
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. West Virginia
DecidedApril 29, 2002
DocketNo. CIV.A.5:01-0494
StatusPublished
Cited by15 cases

This text of 206 F.R.D. 579 (Chambers v. Allstate Insurance) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. West Virginia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Chambers v. Allstate Insurance, 206 F.R.D. 579, 52 Fed. R. Serv. 3d 1183, 2002 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12034, 2002 WL 1033837 (S.D.W. Va. 2002).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

VANDERVORT, United States Magistrate Judge.

Plaintiff sued Defendant in the Circuit Court of Raleigh County, West Virginia, on March 22, 2001, and Defendant removed the case to the District Court on May 31, 2001. Plaintiff alleges Defendant’s improper cancellation of a policy of insurance covering her home, breach of contract, bad faith, unfair claims settlement practices and actual malice in refusing to pay upon her claim to insurance proceeds after fire destroyed her home. Defendant denies all of Plaintiffs allegations.

On February 11, 2002, Plaintiff filed a Motion to Compel the production of specified documents (Document No. 74.), and on March 27, 2002, Defendant filed a Motion for Protective Order Regarding Rule 30(b)(6) Depositions. (Document No. 102.) The parties have responded and replied, and their attorneys convened for a hearing upon the Motions on April 12, 2002. At the hearing, the Court ordered Defendant to deliver a copy of specific documents which Plaintiff identified as the subject of her Motion to Compel to the Court for an in camera examination in conjunction with the Court’s consideration of the parties’ Motions, and the Defendant has done so. Defendant also provided the Court with a copy of the additional documents Which Defendant has identified as privileged against disclosure though Plaintiff is not seeking their disclosure through her Motion to Compel. The Motions are therefore ripe for consideration.

[582]*582 BACKGROUND

Plaintiff had a policy of insurance with Defendant .covering her home for a one year period from January 7, 1993, to January 7, 1994. On March 23,1993, upon learning that Plaintiffs home was vacant, Defendant notified Plaintiff that it was cancelling her policy as of April 27, 1993. Plaintiffs home was destroyed by fire on April 16, 1993. Defendant’s claim representative, Mr. Ken Shaffer, was suspicious about the fire’s origin. On April 19, 1993, Defendant retained UBA Fire & Explosion Investigators to perform a “cause and origin investigation.” A senior fire investigator with UBA examined the scene of the fire on April 21,1993, and issued a Preliminary Report dated April 27, 1993, indicating that the fire was incendiary and was caused by a timing device. The same investigator issued a “Report of Investigation” dated May 21, 1993, stating that the fire was “a deliberate and intentional act of arson.”

The State Police and Fire Marshal also investigated the fire, and Plaintiff was indicted on one count of first degree arson on July 16,1993. At; about the same time, Defendant contacted outside counsel about Plaintiffs claim and prosecution. Defendant was subpoenaed to produce documents, and Mr. Shaffer was called to testify at trial in the criminal proceedings. Defendant produced documents as required in conjunction with the State’s investigation, which were in turn provided to Plaintiff. In testifying, Mr. Shaffer stated that he discussed whether Plaintiff would submit a Proof of Loss in view of the criminal charges with outside counsel on August 17, 1993. Plaintiff contends that these acts amounted to voluntary waiver of the work product immunity and attorney-client privilege with respect to all of Defendant’s communications about Plaintiffs claim.

Plaintiff was convicted on November 17, 1993, and appealed. The West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals reversed Plaintiffs conviction finding plain error in the Circuit Court’s admission of evidence that Plaintiff agreed and then refused to submit to a polygraph test. State v. Chambers, 194 W.Va. 1, 459 S.E.2d 112 (1995).1 Plaintiff .states that she made a demand for policy limits on November 29,1995, and made a further demand on December 1, 2000, alleging bad faith. (Memorandum in Support of Motion to Compel, p. 8.)

Over the years before Plaintiff filed her Complaint in this case, Defendant’s agents communicated in writing about Plaintiffs loss and insurance coverage among themselves, with Defendant’s outside attorneys and with UBA. Mr. Shaffer wrote to Mr. Larry Poynter, casualty claims manager and an attorney, to Mr. David Kersey, outside counsel, and to UBA and received correspondence from Mr. Kersey as well. UBA sent invoices to Defendant and Mr. Kermit Moore, outside counsel with Mr. Kersey. Mr. Shaffer was deposed during these proceedings and testified respecting Defendant’s employment of UBA that “Allstate requests a cause and origin investigation on every fire.” He testified further, as Plaintiff points out, that “[a] cause and origin is not just to determine arson. It’s to determine the cause of the fire and whether there might even be potential subrogation from an accident fire.” Plaintiff further claims that Defendant has never issued a formal denial of coverage.

Plaintiff served her First Set of Interrogatories and Requests for Production of Documents upon Defendant on September 10, 2001. (Document No. 27.) Defendant served its Responses to Plaintiffs Interrogatories and Requests for Production of Documents upon Plaintiff on October 15, 2001. (Document No. 36.) Defendant served Supplemental Responses to Plaintiffs Request for Production of Documents on January 21, 2002. (Document No. 55.) Initially, in responding to Plaintiffs Request for Production of Documents, Defendant submitted an Objection and Privilege Log stating as follows:

Defendant, Allstate, in Responding to Plaintiffs Request for Production of Documents, has compiled the documents comprising its “claim file” into a single collection. For east (sic) of reference, all of the documents identified herein have been “Bate” stamped, with the page number in [583]*583the lower right corner and placed in order accordingly. Those documents not being produced are identified generally, along with the specific privilege or objection being asserted. It is the position of Allstate Insurance Company that the file ... is, in its entirety, protected by the attorney client privilege and/or the work product doctrine. Accordingly, the file has not been included in these materials.

Defendant listed documents comprising 330 pages. Defendant’s Supplemental Responses contained the same statement as quoted above and listed documents comprising 587 pages. Of the documents listed in Defendant’s Log, Plaintiff seeks to compel disclosure of 23 documents comprising 52 pages. (Plaintiffs Reply Memorandum in Support of her Motion to Compel, pp. 9 — 10.) They are as follows:

1. A copy of invoices from UBA to Defendant regarding fees dated May 21, 2000, May 5, 1998, May 7, 1997, October 20, 1993, July 2,1993, and May 21, 1993;
2. A copy of a letter from UBA to David Dailey regarding fees dated July 26, 1993;
3. A copy of a letter from Ken Whitt to Ken Shaffer dated May 21, 1993, regarding underwriting guidelines;
4. A non-redacted copy of Defendant’s computer claim diary;
5. A copy of invoices from UBA to Defendant dated November 13, 1995, October 25, 1994, October 28, 1993, August 25,1993, June 24,1993;
6. A copy of a letter from David Kersey to Ken Shaffer dated January 12,1994, regarding the status of the case with enclosure;
7. A copy of an invoice from UBA to Kermit Moore dated August 21, 1993;
8.

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Bluebook (online)
206 F.R.D. 579, 52 Fed. R. Serv. 3d 1183, 2002 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12034, 2002 WL 1033837, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/chambers-v-allstate-insurance-wvsd-2002.