FEBRUARY 2017 BAD FAITH CASES: USE OF UMBRELLA TRADE NAME DOES NOT DEMONSTRATE BAD FAITH (New Jersey Federal)

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The insureds move to remand this New Jersey federal action back to Superior Court. The insureds argued at one point that the insurer defendants, “anticipating a lawsuit, acted in bad faith, using the name ‘Chubb Insurance’ in correspondence to mislead them into naming a defendant that is not a legal entity.” The court stated that: “An entity’s use of an umbrella trade or business name that differs from its legal name does not in itself demonstrate bad faith.”

Date of Decision: December 9, 2016

Fischer v. Chubb Ins., No. 16-8220, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 170590 (D.N.J. Dec. 9, 2016) (McNulty, J.)