Federal Court Rejects Effort by Plaintiff to Join Post-Koken Negligence Action Against Tortfeasor in State Court with Federal Court Claims

In the case of Pastin v. Allstate  Ins. Co., No. 17-CV-1503 (W.D. Pa. Nov. 30, 2018 Horan, J.), the court rejected an effort by a Plaintiff to join her underlying state court negligence action against the tortfeasor in a motor vehicle accident case with her UIM bad faith and breach of contract action filed in the federal court against her own carrier.  

According to the Opinion, the tortfeasor Defendant in the state case and the Plaintiff were insured by the same carrier.  

The court rejected this motion by the Plaintiff, observing that the two (2) actions were separate and distinct.  The court found no basis to join the underlying state action with the federal bad faith action simply because of the fortuity that the same carrier was involved in both claims.  

Anyone wishing to review a copy of this decision may click this LINK. 

I send thanks to Attorney Lee Applebaum of the Philadelphia law firm of Fineman, Krekstein & Harris, and the writer of the excellent Pennsylvania and New Jersey Insurance Bad Faith Case Law blog, for bringing this decision to my attention.