Rawe v. Liberty Mutl Fire
Eastern District of Kentucky at Covington
Insurance: Bad Faith
06a0337p.06 9/1/2006
KAREN NELSON MOORE, Circuit Judge. Plaintiffs-Appellants Melissa Rawe, Thomas Rawe, and Kimberly Rawe appeal the district court’s grant of defendants’ motion for judgment on the pleadings under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(c). After Melissa Rawe was severely injured in a car accident, she sought to recover under two insurance policies issued by Defendants-Appellees Liberty Mutual and Cynthia Holtkamp,1 (referred to collectively as “Liberty Mutual”), who is one of Liberty Mutual’s claims adjusters. When Liberty Mutual2 refused to pay the insurance claim Rawe sought, she filed suit, alleging first- and third-party statutory and common law bad faith as well as breach of contract and fraud claims against Liberty Mutual. Liberty Mutual filed a motion for judgment on the pleadings, which the district court granted. For the reasons explained below, we REVERSE the district court’s grant of judgment on the pleadings to Liberty Mutual on Rawe’s first-party bad faith claims that are based upon defendant’s alleged actions that occurred after the filing of Rawe’s complaint in the first suit in October 2003, as they are not barred by claim preclusion. We also REVERSE the district court’s dismissal of Rawe’s third-party claims under the Kentucky Unfair Claims Settlement Practices Act (“KUCSPA”). We AFFIRM the district court’s grant of judgment on the pleadings to Liberty Mutual on Rawe’s other claims.
