Bad Faith Claim Goes Up In Smoke In Fire Loss Claim - But Right To Amend Allowed

In the case of Wendolowski v. Erie Insurance, No. 2023-CV-3806 (C.P. Lacka. Co. July 14, 2025 Nealon, J.), the court addressed Preliminary Objections filed by a carrier challenging the legal sufficiency of the insured’s bad faith claim arising out of a fire loss.

The court noted that, to recover for statutory bad faith, an insured must establish that the carrier did not have a reasonable basis for denying benefits under the policy and, that the carrier knew, or recklessly disregarded, its lack of a reasonable basis in denying the claim.

In this matter, the court noted that the Plaintiff’s Complaint baldly alleged that the carrier acted in bad faith in failing to pay his claimed loss in full. The court noted that the Plaintiff did not provide any facts arguably supporting any conclusion that the carrier lacked a reasonable basis for disputing the extent of the laws or that the carrier knew or recklessly disregarded the absence of such a reasonable basis.

As such, the court granted the carrier’s demurrer to the insured’s bad faith claim. However, the insured was permitted to file an Amended Complaint in an effort to provide the requisite factual support for a statutory bad faith claim.

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

Source of image:  Photo by Kurt Hudspeth on www.pexels.com.