The Courts Finding As to Bad Faith
While the court did find some of the plaintiff’s allegations to be conclusory, Judge Padova found that “others assert factual matter that gives rise to a reasonable inference that [the insurer] denied Plaintiff the benefits of her policy in bad faith. For instance, while the complaint alleges generally that [the insurer] ‘fail[ed] to make a reasonable effort to negotiate the timely settlement of the claim,’ it also alleges more specifically that [the insurer] refused to acknowledge receipt of Plaintiff’s and Ridley Township’s engineering reports, as well as receipt of Plaintiff’s proofs of loss, and failed to engage its own third-party engineering expert to counter Plaintiff’s engineering reports.”
On May 9, 2022, the court denied Defendant Allstate Insurance Company’s “Motion to Dismiss Plaintiff’s Bad Faith Claim Pursuant to Federal Rule 12(b)(6).
In re Smith v. Allstate Insurance Company, U.S. District Court Eastern District of Pennsylvania (Memorandum order issued May 9, 2022) (Padova, J.)
