Lydick v. Erie Ins. Prop. & Cas. Co.

358 F. Supp. 3d 552
CourtUnited States District Court
DecidedJanuary 14, 2019
DocketCIVIL ACTION NO. 2:18-cv-01020
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 358 F. Supp. 3d 552 (Lydick v. Erie Ins. Prop. & Cas. Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States District Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Lydick v. Erie Ins. Prop. & Cas. Co., 358 F. Supp. 3d 552 (usdistct 2019).

Opinion

THOMAS E. JOHNSTON, CHIEF JUDGE

Before the Court is Defendant Erie Insurance Property & Casualty Company's ("Erie") Motion to Dismiss. (ECF No. 6.) For the reasons discussed below, the Court GRANTS the motion.

*556I. BACKGROUND

This action arises from an automobile accident on August 29, 2003. (ECF No. 1-1 at 4 ¶ 5.) At the time of the accident, which allegedly caused Plaintiff serious injuries, Plaintiff was insured by Erie with a policy that included underinsured motorists coverage limits of $ 20,000 per person and $ 40,000 per occurrence. (Id. ¶¶ 6-8.) Following the accident, Plaintiff presented an underinsured motorists claim to Erie, and Erie subsequently paid Plaintiff the alleged underinsured motorists coverage limit of $ 20,000. (Id. at 4-5 ¶¶ 10, 13.) Plaintiff now challenges the underinsured motorists coverage provided by Erie. Plaintiff alleges that "Erie refused to use the forms prescribed by the West Virginia Insurance Commissioner, as required by the provisions of W. Va. Code § 33-6-31d, and its offer(s) was/were otherwise defective and failed to meet the standards set for the [sic: forth]" by the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals. (Id. at 5 ¶ 16 (emphasis removed) (citing Bias v. Nationwide Mut. Ins. Co. , 179 W.Va. 125, 365 S.E.2d 789 (1987) ).)

Based on these alleged facts, Plaintiff contends that Erie's offer of uninsured and underinsured motorists coverage generates the following causes of action: (1) breach of contract, (2) common law bad faith, and (3) violations of the West Virginia Unfair Trade Practices Act ("UTPA"). (Id. at 13-18 ¶¶ 48-74.) Plaintiff seeks compensatory and punitive damages, attorneys' fees and costs, pre- and post-judgment interest, and any other relief justified. (Id. at 18-19 ¶ 75.)

Plaintiff originally filed the Complaint in the Circuit Court of Kanawha County, West Virginia, on March 13, 2018. (Id. at 3.) Erie removed the case to this Court on June 8, 2018, asserting diversity jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1332 as the sole basis for this Court's subject matter jurisdiction. (ECF No. 1.) Erie filed its Motion to Dismiss on July 3, 2018, arguing that all of Plaintiff's claims should be dismissed because they are barred by a previously executed release and the applicable statute of limitations. (ECF No. 6.) Plaintiff responded to Erie's motion on August 10, 2018,1 (ECF No. 9), and Erie filed its reply on August 17, 2018, (ECF No. 11). As such, the Motion to Dismiss is fully briefed and ripe for adjudication.

II. LEGAL STANDARD2

A motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim upon which relief may be granted tests the legal sufficiency of a civil complaint. Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6). A plaintiff *557must allege sufficient facts, which, if proven, would entitle him to relief under a cognizable legal claim. Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly , 550 U.S. 544, 554-55, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007). A case should be dismissed if, viewing the well-pleaded factual allegations in the complaint as true and in the light most favorable to the plaintiff, the complaint does not contain "enough facts to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face." Id. at 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955.

In applying this standard, a court must utilize a two-pronged approach. First, it must separate the legal conclusions in the complaint from the factual allegations. Ashcroft v. Iqbal , 556 U.S. 662, 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009). Second, assuming the truth of only the factual allegations, the court must determine whether the plaintiff's complaint permits a reasonable inference that "the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged." Id. Well-pleaded factual allegations are required; labels, conclusions, and a "formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action will not do." Twombly , 550 U.S. at 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955 ; see also King v. Rubenstein , 825 F.3d 206, 214 (4th Cir. 2016) ("Bare legal conclusions 'are not entitled to the assumption of truth' and are insufficient to state a claim." (quoting Iqbal , 556 U.S. at 679, 129 S.Ct. 1937 ) ). A plaintiff's "[f]actual allegations must be enough to raise a right to relief above the speculative level," thereby "nudg[ing] [the] claims across the line from conceivable to plausible." Twombly , 550 U.S. at 555, 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955.

III. DISCUSSION

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

Related

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
358 F. Supp. 3d 552, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/lydick-v-erie-ins-prop-cas-co-usdistct-2019.