Kalter v. Hartford Insurance

24 F. Supp. 3d 230, 2014 WL 1515657, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 53674
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. New York
DecidedApril 17, 2014
DocketNo. 14-CV-1115 (ADS)(WDW)
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 24 F. Supp. 3d 230 (Kalter v. Hartford Insurance) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Kalter v. Hartford Insurance, 24 F. Supp. 3d 230, 2014 WL 1515657, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 53674 (E.D.N.Y. 2014).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OF DECISION AND ORDER

SPATT, District Judge.

On January 24, 2014, the Plaintiffs Harold Kalter and Marilyn Kalter (the “Plaintiffs”), commenced this action against the Defendant Hartford Insurance Company of the Midwest (the “Defendant”) in Supreme Court of the State of New York, County of Nassau. The Plaintiffs asserted claims for breach of contract, breach of the duty of good faith and violations of New York State insurance laws in connection with the Defendant’s alleged failure to provide insurance coverage under the Plaintiffs’ homeowners’ insurance policy for damage that the Plaintiffs claim occurred to their property on or about March 23, 2013.

On February 20, 2014, the Defendant removed the Plaintiffs’ lawsuit to this Court on the ground that complete diversity of citizenship existed between the parties. One week later, on February 27, 2014, the Defendant filed a motion pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure (“Fed. R. Civ.P.”) 12(b)(6) to dismiss the Plaintiffs’ breach of the duty of good faith cause of action. This motion is presently before the Court. To date, the Plaintiffs have not appeared in this action since it was removed from state court by the Defendant and have not opposed the motion.

For the reasons that follow, the Court grants the Defendant’s motion. The Court also, sua sponte, dismisses the Plaintiffs’ other two causes of action without prejudice.

I. BACKGROUND

Unless otherwise stated, the Court draws the following facts from the Plaintiffs’ Complaint and construes them in a light most favorable to the Plaintiffs. Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 1949-50, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009).

The Plaintiffs reside in and own a home located at 1045 Linden Street, Valley Stream, New York. The Defendant is an insurance company which is licensed to underwrite policies of insurance in the State of New York. On or before December 15, 2012, the Plaintiffs applied to the Defendant for a homeowners’ policy of insurance for their Valley Stream property. About that time, the Defendant underwrote and issued a homeowners’ insurance policy to the Plaintiffs (the “Policy”). The Policy provided coverage for the dwelling, premises, property, personal property, real estate, home and/or structures located at the 1045 Linden Street address. The Policy was effective from December 15, 2012 through December 15, 2013, and the Plaintiffs paid all requisite premiums; provided all requisite information; and complied [233]*233with all the requésts and requirements of the Defendant.

The Plaintiffs claim that on or about March 23, 2013, they sustained damage and incurred losses to the dwelling, premises, property, real estate, home and/or structures located at the 1045 Linden Street address in Valley Stream. They further claim that the damages and losses were covered by the Policy. The Plaintiffs provide no further details with respect to the nature of the occurrence that caused their Valley Stream property to sustain damage and incur losses, nor do they explain the type of damages or losses they experienced.

According to the Plaintiffs, on or about “March 25, 3103 [sic]” they made a timely claim for benefits under the Policy. (Compl., ¶¶ 62, 63.) The Court assumes for the purpose of resolving this Complaint that the Plaintiffs meant to state that they made their claim on March 25, 2013. (Compl., ¶¶ 62, 63.) In any event, the Defendant apparently refused to acknowledge the March 23, 2013 occurrence and the Plaintiffs’ March 25, 2013 claim. In this regard, as the Plaintiffs put it, the Defendant “refused to adjust the occurrence and claim”; “failed to honor its duties and obligations”; “breached the terms, conditions and obligations of ... the Policy[ ] regarding the occurrence and claim”; and “failed to pay the claim asserted, presented and made by the Plaintiff[s].” (Compl., ¶¶ 69, 71, 75, 77.) Additional specifics are absent from the Plaintiffs’ Complaint, except that the Plaintiffs allege that the Defendant’s purported conduct has caused them to suffer damages in the amount of $226,094.63.

II. DISCUSSION

A. Legal Standard Under Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6)

It is well-established that a complaint should be dismissed under Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6) only if it does not contain enough allegations of fact to state a claim for relief that is “plausible on its face.” Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007). In this regard, when deciding a motion to dismiss, a court is required to accept the material facts alleged in the complaint as true and draw all reasonable inferences in favor of the plaintiff. Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937; Zinermon v. Burch, 494 U.S. 113, 118, 110 S.Ct. 975, 108 L.Ed.2d 100 (1990); In re NYSE Specialists Secs. Litig., 503 F.3d 89, 91 (2d Cir.2007).

. As such, “[w]hen there are well-pleaded factual allegations, a court should assume their veracity and ... determine whether they plausibly give rise to an entitlement of relief.” Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 679, 129 S.Ct. 1937. However, “although ‘a court must accept as true all of the allegations contained in a complaint,’ that ‘tenet’ ‘is inapplicable to legal conclusions,’ and ‘[threadbare recitals of the elements of a cause of action, supported by mere conclusory statements, do not suffice.’ ” Harris v. Mills, 572 F.3d 66, 72 (2d Cir.2009) (quoting Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937). Further, in its analysis, the Court may refer “to documents attached to the complaint as an exhibit or incorporated in it by reference, to matters of which judicial notice may be taken, or to documents either in [a] plaintifffs] possession or of which [a] plaintiff! ] had knowledge and relied on in bringing suit.” Brass v. Am. Film Tech., Inc., 987 F.2d 142, 150 (2d Cir.1993).

Of importance, the Court notes that “[i]n deciding an unopposed motion to dismiss,” as the Court does here, “a court is to ‘assume the truth of a pleading’s factual allegations and test only its legal sufficiency.... Thus, although a party is [234]*234of course to be given a reasonable opportunity to respond to an opponent’s motion, the sufficiency of a complaint is a matter of law that the court is capable of determining based on its own reading of the pleading and knowledge of the law.’ ” Thomas v. Colletti 13-CV-04827 NSR, 2014 WL 1329947, at *2 (S.D.N.Y. Mar. 28, 2014) (quoting Haas v. Commerce Bank, 497 F.Supp.2d 563, 564 (S.D.N.Y.2007) (in turn, quoting McCall v. Pataki 232 F.3d 321 (2d Cir.2000))).

B. As to Whether the Plaintiffs’ Have Stated a Claim for Breach of the Duty of Good Faith Under New York State Law

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Bluebook (online)
24 F. Supp. 3d 230, 2014 WL 1515657, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 53674, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/kalter-v-hartford-insurance-nyed-2014.