BAD FAITH CLAIM CAN ONLY BE ASSERTED BY INSUREDS (Western District)
The court determined that plaintiff was not an insured in this title insurance matter. Thus, it was not entitled to any title insurance coverage.
Addressing the plaintiff’s bad faith claim, Western District Judge Stickman found:
A claim for statutory bad faith under 42 Pa. C.S. § 8371 requires that “the insurer has acted in bad faith toward the insured.” As explained above, [plaintiff] was not an “Insured” under the Policy. Because [plaintiff] was not an “Insured” it cannot maintain a bad faith claim against Chicago Title. See Seasor v. Liberty Mut. Ins. Co., 941 F. Supp. 488, 491 (E.D. Pa. 1996) (“[I]n order to bring an action for bad faith against an insurer, one must qualify as an “insured” as that term is defined in the policy.”). Accordingly, summary judgment will be entered in favor of [the insurer].
