Smart v. Allstate Ins. Co., 2023 WL 187567 (E.D. Pa. Jan. 12, 2023)

Despite documentary evidence, insured’s testimony alone is sufficient to create an issue of fact to defeat summary judgment in an uninsured motorist case.

The defendant insurance carrier filed a motion for summary judgment as to the plaintiff/insured’s breach of contract cause of action arising from his claim for uninsured motorist benefits. The plaintiff/insured alleged he was in a car accident with an unknown driver who fled the scene. The defendant’s policy required that any hit-and-run accidents be reported to the police. The plaintiff/insured alleged at his deposition and in his answers to Requests for Admissions that he called the police after the hit-and-run accident but that the police never arrived at the scene. There was no police report of record. Further, the telephone carrier which provided the plaintiff/insured with the cell phone with which he allegedly called the police responded to a subpoena from the defendant that they had no records pertaining to that phone number. The district court determined that the plaintiff/insured’s testimony and discovery responses were sufficient to create an issue of fact and denied the defendant’s motion for summary judgment.

 

 

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