McDonough v. State Farm Fire & Cas. Co.

365 F. Supp. 3d 552
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Pennsylvania
DecidedFebruary 7, 2019
DocketNo. 5:18-cv-02247
StatusPublished
Cited by22 cases

This text of 365 F. Supp. 3d 552 (McDonough v. State Farm Fire & Cas. Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
McDonough v. State Farm Fire & Cas. Co., 365 F. Supp. 3d 552 (E.D. Pa. 2019).

Opinion

Joseph F. Leeson, Jr., United States District Judge

I. INTRODUCTION

The Plaintiff, an injured driver, has brought this action against his automobile insurer based on a dispute regarding payment of underinsured motorist benefits arising from a motor vehicle accident. Claims for breach of contract, statutory and common law bad faith, and violation of the Pennsylvania Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law have been asserted. The insurer has moved to dismiss the bad faith and Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law claims under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6). For the reasons set forth below, the partial motion to dismiss is granted.

II. BACKGROUND1

On May 22, 2014, at around 6:55 a.m., after running a stop sign, Chad Sweigart's Jeep Cherokee struck Plaintiff Richard McDonough's Pontiac Sunfire as he proceeded through the intersection of Lebanon Road and Elizabeth Town Road in Manheim, Pennsylvania.

As a result of the accident, McDonough suffered serious injuries to his neck and spine. He was taken to Heart of Lancaster Regional Medical Center by ambulance where he underwent conservative treatment involving physical therapy, anti-inflammatory, *556and pain medication. This initial treatment proved ineffective. McDonough received subsequent medical treatment for his injuries and underwent two surgeries to remedy his spinal injury caused by the accident. Because of his injuries an economist estimated that McDonough lost past and future earnings and past and future fringe benefits equal to $ 620,631.

Donegal Insurance Group insured Sweigart for bodily injury liability with a policy limit of $ 100,000. Donegal offered McDonough the full policy amount of $ 100,000 to settle the claim for personal injury and loss stemming from the accident. McDonough requested consent to this settlement from his own insurer, Defendant State Farm Fire and Casualty Company, as required by the State Farm policy. State Farm provided its consent. The Donegal insurance coverage, however, was allegedly insufficient to compensate McDonough for his losses and damages.

After settling with Sweigart and Donegal, McDonough filed a demand with State Farm to collect underinsured benefits to the extent of the underinsured coverage limits of $ 300,000. State Farm denied McDonough's request for the full $ 300,000 and counter-offered with $ 12,460.76 to settle his claim. Despite repeated requests, State Farm refused to pay McDonough the full amount of the State Farm policy limit.

After McDonough initiated this suit in the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County, State Farm removed this action from state court to the District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. McDonough asserts the following claims against State Farm: statutory bad faith under 42 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 8371 (Count I); common law bad faith (Count II); breach of contract (Count III); and violation of Pennsylvania's Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law (UTPCPL), 73 P.S. §§ 2-201- 201-9.3 (Count IV). State Farm moves pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) to dismiss the claims for bad faith and violation of the UTPCPL.

III. LEGAL STANDARDS

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) allows a court to dismiss a complaint for its "failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted." Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6). The Rules generally demand "only a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief, in order to give the defendant fair notice of what the claim is and the grounds upon which it rests." Connelly v. Lane Constr. Corp. , 809 F.3d 780, 786 (3d Cir. 2016) (citing Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly , 550 U.S. 544, 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007) (internal quotations omitted) ).

"To survive a motion to dismiss, a complaint must contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to 'state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.' " Ashcroft v. Iqbal , 556 U.S. 662, 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009) (quoting Twombly , 550 U.S. at 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955 ). In rendering a decision on a motion to dismiss, this Court must "accept all factual allegations as true [and] construe the complaint in the light most favorable to the plaintiff." Phillips , 515 F.3d at 233 (quoting Pinker v. Roche Holdings Ltd. , 292 F.3d 361, 374 n.7 (3d Cir. 2002) (internal quotations omitted) ). Only if "the '[f]actual allegations ... raise a right to relief above the speculative level' " has the plaintiff stated a plausible claim. Id. at 234 (quoting Twombly , 550 U.S. at 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955 ). "A claim has facial plausibility when the plaintiff pleads factual content that allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged." Iqbal , 556 U.S. at 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937. However, "the *557

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365 F. Supp. 3d 552, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mcdonough-v-state-farm-fire-cas-co-paed-2019.