Plaintiff’s various claims, including breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing, corporate malfeasance-tortious interference, fraud, bad faith and unjust enrichment, were all dismissed.

The United States District Court for the Northern District of New York dismissed the plaintiff’s claim for breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing because the plaintiff failed to assert specific conduct separate and apart from the handling of the insurance policy. The court also dismissed the claim for corporate malfeasance-tortious interference because the plaintiff failed to allege the existence of any agreement between him and a third party. The plaintiff’s claim under New York Insurance Law § 2601 was denied because there is not a private cause of action under the statute, as was his claim under New York’s General Business Law § 349, because he failed to demonstrate that the harm was directed at consumers as a whole. Finally, the court dismissed the plaintiff’s claims for fraud, bad faith and unjust enrichment and denied the plaintiff’s application to file a Third amended complaint.

Case Law Alert, 1st Qtr 2012