Plaintiff’s claims for common law fraud, bad faith, the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act and punitive damages were all dismissed.

The plaintiff’s insurance claim was denied because she had failed to take her vehicle in for a required photo inspection and her collision and comprehensive coverage was cancelled. Her subsequent claim for common law fraud was dismissed because her amended complaint failed to put the defendant on notice of the precise misconduct being charged. The plaintiff’s bad faith claim was dismissed for failing to show that the defendant either lacked a fairly debatable reason for denying coverage or that the defendant knowingly or recklessly disregarded the lack of a reasonable basis for denial. The court also dismissed the plaintiff’s claim under New Jersey’s Consumer Fraud Act because the payment of insurance benefits is not subject to the CFA. Finally, the court dismissed the request for punitive damages in light of its dismissal of the plaintiff’s other claims.

Case Law Alert, 1st Qtr 2012