Deloach v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company

Filing 7

ORDER granting 3 --motion to dismiss; denying as moot 6 --motion for leave to reply; dismissing the bad faith claim. Signed by Judge Steven D. Merryday on 2/21/2014. (BK)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA
TAMPA DIVISION
CAMEO DELOACH,
Plaintiff,
v.

CASE NO.: 8:14-cv-242-T-23AEP

STATE FARM MUTUAL AUTO.
INS. CO.,
Defendant.
/

ORDER
The plaintiff sues the defendant for uninsured motorist benefits and for bad
faith. The defendant moves (Doc. 3) to dismiss the bad faith claim (Count II) as
premature. Although an insured’s dissatisfaction with the manner in which the
insurer handles a claim might warrant a bad faith claim, the bad faith claim must
await a favorable adjudication on the merits of the insured’s claim for breach of the
insurance agreement. See Blanchard v. State Farm Mutual Auto. Ins. Co., 575 So. 2d
1289 (Fla. 1991) (“If an uninsured motorist is not liable to the insured for damages
arising from an accident, then the insurer has not acted in bad faith in refusing to
settle the claim. Thus, an insured’s underlying first-party action for insurance
benefits against the insurer necessarily must be resolved favorably to the insured
before the cause of action for bad faith in settlement negotiations can accrue. It

follows that an insured’s claim against an uninsured motorist carrier for failing to
settle the claim in good faith does not accrue before the conclusion of the underlying
litigation for the contractual uninsured motorist insurance benefits. Absent a
determination of the existence of liability on the part of the uninsured tortfeasor and
the extent of the plaintiff’s damages, a cause of action cannot exist for a bad faith
failure to settle.”). In response (Doc. 4) the plaintiff “agrees that a statutory bad faith
claim may not be prosecuted until all claims to contract benefits are finally
determined.” The plaintiff requests that the bad faith claim be either abated or
dismissed without prejudice.
The defendant’s motion (Doc. 3) is GRANTED, and the bad faith claim
(Count II) is DISMISSED WITHOUT PREJUDICE. The defendant’s motion
(Doc. 6) for leave to reply is DENIED AS MOOT.
ORDERED in Tampa, Florida, on February 21, 2014.

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