On March 6, 2018, the United States District Court for the Southern District of California granted the firm's client, a multi-national insurance company, the motion to dismiss the plaintiff’s first amended complaint without leave to amend. The motion was filed by Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani San Diego partner Matthew G. Kleiner and senior counsel Jordan S. Derringer.
The plaintiff originally filed her complaint alleging causes of action for breach of contract, bad faith, breach of fiduciary duty and fraud based upon negligent misrepresentation and concealment. The plaintiff’s claims arose out of the insurer’s denial of a claim for accidental death benefits in connection with the death of her husband resulting from a plane crash. The plaintiff alleged that the insurer client provided inadequate notice of an aviation exclusion that was present in a replacement insurance policy and allegedly broader than an aviation exclusion in her prior policy issued by another insurer. According to the plaintiff, the exclusion was not clear and conspicuous and was unconscionable. The plaintiff further stated that the client's letter advising that her policy was similar to her previous insurance policy was incorrect and therefore, Gordon & Rees's client breached its fiduciary duty to the plaintiff. The plaintiff’s contention regarding the letter also formed the basis of the negligent misrepresentation and concealment causes of actions.
After Gordon & Rees's attorneys were successful in filing a motion to dismiss, the plaintiff filed a first amended complaint setting forth identical causes of action but alleging that Gordon & Rees's client's policy included a sickness exclusion that was not present in her previous insurance company's policy and that this policy contained a non-contributory benefit that was not available under the current policy. Gordon & Rees attorneys again filed a motion to dismiss the first amended complaint arguing that the plaintiff failed to correct the defects from the original complaint and that the additional allegations regarding the presence of a sickness exclusion and the lack of a non-contributory benefit were irrelevant as the plaintiff’s claim was not denied on the sickness exclusion and she failed to prove entitlement to any benefits under the her previous policy.
The trial court granted Gordon & Rees's motion to dismiss the amended complaint without leave to amend and held that the aviation exclusion in the policy was plain, clear and conspicuous. The court also found that the exclusion was not unconscionable and that the notice of change of insurance was plain, clear and conspicuous because the aviation exclusion in the client's policy was not a reduction in coverage because the plaintiff was not entitled to benefits under her current or previous policy. As the plaintiff’s breach of contract cause of action failed, the plaintiff was unable to state a cause of action for bad faith. The court held that the plaintiff failed to state a cause of action for breach of fiduciary duty because generally, an insurer is not a fiduciary of the insured and the plaintiff failed to demonstrate that the insurer assumed a higher duty of care or knowingly undertook to act on behalf of or for the benefit of the plaintiff. With respect to the plaintiff’s fraud claims, the court held that the insurer’s statement that the policies were similar was not a misrepresentation and, even if it were, the plaintiff’s reliance thereon was not justified. The court also held that the plaintiff did not sustain any damages in connection with these claims because she could not prove an entitlement to benefits under the previous insurance company's policy. Finding that leave to amend would be futile, the court dismissed the first amended complaint with prejudice and ordered judgment in favor of Gordon & Rees's client.
To read the court's full decision, please click here.