Coleman v. Unum Group Corp.

207 F. Supp. 3d 1281, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 126292, 2016 WL 4994553
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Alabama
DecidedSeptember 16, 2016
DocketCIVIL ACTION 15-0367-WS-M
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 207 F. Supp. 3d 1281 (Coleman v. Unum Group Corp.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Alabama primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Coleman v. Unum Group Corp., 207 F. Supp. 3d 1281, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 126292, 2016 WL 4994553 (S.D. Ala. 2016).

Opinion

ORDER

WILLIAM H. STEELE, CHIEF UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

This matter is before the Court on the defendant’s motion for partial summary judgment. (Doc. 90). The parties have filed briefs and evidentiary materials in support of their respective positions, (Docs. 91-92, 101-03, 105-06), and the motion is ripe for resolution. After careful consideration, the Court concludes the motion is due to be granted.

BACKGROUND

The plaintiff purchased an “own occupation” disability policy from the defendant’s predecessor. He made a claim for benefits in October 2012, and the defendant paid benefits until December 2014. The amended complaint, (Doc. 30), asserts a claim for breach of contract and a claim for bad faith based on the December 2014 cessation of benefits. The defendant seeks summary judgment as to the bad faith claim only.

DISCUSSION

Summary judgment should be granted only if “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). The party seeking summary judgment bears “the initial burden to show the district court, by reference to materials on file, that there are no genuine issues of material fact that should be decided at trial.” Clark v. Coats & Clark, Inc., 929 F.2d 604, 608 (11th Cir. 1991). The moving party may meet its burden in either of two ways: (1) by “negating an element of the non-moving party’s claim”; or (2) by “point[ing] to materials on file that demonstrate that the party bearing the burden of proof at trial will not be able to meet that burden.” Id. “Even after Celotex it is never enough simply to state that the non-moving party cannot meet its burden at trial.” Id.; accord Mullins v. Crowell, 228 F.3d 1305, 1313 (11th Cir. 2000); Sammons v. Taylor, 967 F.2d 1533, 1538 (11th Cir. 1992).

“If the party moving for summary judgment fails to discharge the initial burden, then the motion must be denied and the court need not consider what, if any, showing the non-movant has made.” Fitzpatrick v. City of Atlanta, 2 F.3d 1112, 1116 (11th Cir. 1993); accord Mullins, 228 F.3d at 1313; Clark, 929 F.2d at 608.

“If, however, the movant carries the initial summary judgment burden ..,, the responsibility then devolves upon the non-movant to show the existence of a genuine issue of material fact.” Fitzpatrick, 2 F.3d at 1116. “If the nonmoving party fails to make ‘a sufficient showing on an essential element of her case with respect to which she has the burden of proof,’ the moving party is entitled to summary judgment.” Clark, 929 F.2d at 608 (quoting Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986)) (footnote omitted); see also Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(e)(2) (“If a party fails to properly support an assertion of fact or fails to properly address another party’s assertion of fact as required by Rule 56(c), the court may ... consider the fact undisputed for purposes of the motion .... ”).

[1284]*1284In deciding a motion for summary judgment, “[t]he evidence, and all reasonable inferences, must be viewed in the light most favorable to the nonmovant .... ” McCormick v. City of Fort Lauderdale, 333 F.3d 1234, 1243 (11th Cir. 2003).

There is no burden on the Court to identify unreferenced evidence supporting a party’s position.1 Accordingly, the Court limits its review to the exhibits, and to the specific portions of the exhibits, to which the parties have expressly cited. Likewise, “[t]here is no burden upon the district court to distill every potential argument that could be made based upon the materials before it on summary judgment,” Resolution Trust Corp. v. Dunmar Corp., 43 F.3d 587, 599 (11th Cir. 1995), and the Court accordingly limits its review to those arguments the parties have expressly advanced.

Alabama law recognizes two forms of bad faith: “normal” and “abnormal.” These are not two torts but a single tort “with different options for proof.” State Farm Fire and Casualty Co. v. Brechbill, 144 So.3d 248, 257-58 (Ala. 2013). The plaintiff invokes both. (Doc. 30 at 4-5; Doc. 102 at 25).

“We have repeatedly held that the tort of bad-faith refusal to pay a claim has four elements—(a) a breach of insurance contract, (b) the refusal to pay claim, (c) the absence of arguable reason, (d) the insurer’s knowledge of such absence—with a conditional fifth element: (e) if the intentional failure to determine the existence of a lawful basis is relied upon, the plaintiff must prove the insurer’s intentional failure to determine whether there is a legitimate or arguable reason to refuse to pay the claim.” Brechbill, 144 So.3d at 258 (internal quotes omitted). “Thus, for the tort of bad-faith refusal to pay, requirements (a) through (d) represent the ‘normal’ case. Requirement (e) represents the ‘abnormal’ case.” Id. (internal quotes omitted).

The Brechbill decision makes clear that the conditional fifth element is a potential substitute for the fourth element, but not for the third element, which the plaintiff must prove in every case. “Regardless of whether the claim is a bad-faith refusal to pay or a bad-faith refusal to investigate, the tort of bad faith requires proof of the third element, absence of legitimate reason for denial .... ” 144 So.3d at 258. “The existence of an insurer’s lawful basis for denying a claim is a sufficient condition for defeating a claim that relies upon the fifth element of the insurer’s intentional or reckless failure to investigate.” Id. (emphasis in original). Thus, “[a] bad-faith-refusal-to-investigate claim cannot survive where the trial court has expressly found as a matter of law that the insurer had a reasonably legitimate or arguable reason for refusing to pay the claim at the time the claim was denied.” Id. at 260. “[72] egardless of the imperfections of [the insurer’s] investigation, the existence of a debatable reason for denying the claim at the time the claim was denied defeats a bad faith failure to pay the claim.” Id. at 259 (internal quotes omitted, emphasis in original).

The defendant relies on Brechbill, (Doc. 91 at 19-20), yet the plaintiff ignores it. Instead, the plaintiff cites two federal [1285]*1285cases that—consistent with Brechbill— identify the conditional fifth element as a substitute for the fourth element and require the third element to be satisfied in all cases. (Doc. 102 at 27). Such authorities obviously do not advance the plaintiffs cause.

The plaintiff also cites

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207 F. Supp. 3d 1281, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 126292, 2016 WL 4994553, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/coleman-v-unum-group-corp-alsd-2016.