The plaintiff in a bad faith class action lawsuit against Liberty Mutual and its subsidiaries in Arizona has voluntarily dropped the case; however, one of his attorneys says there will still be other litigation.

The suit, filed in May, alleges the insurance companies have barred or not informed policyholders of their ability to use both uninsured and underinsured coverages.

In allegedly doing so, Liberty Mutual “breached its contractual, good faith, and legal duties to its customers, including underpaying the benefits due,” according to the amended complaint.

On Friday, plaintiff Daniel Capane’s attorney, Robert Carey, told Repairer Driven News “We will be pushing forward for all affected insureds, including Mr. Capane.”

“We dismissed that case without prejudice to streamline our litigation efforts,” Carey said. “[A]s always, we strive to find common ground to resolve cases on mutually beneficial terms.”

When a case is dismissed without prejudice it can be refiled in the future.

Carey confirmed there are other pending cases involving Liberty Mutual and Safeco entities but didn’t provide any specifics.

In November, Liberty Mutual filed a motion to dismiss the case alleging its claims were outside the statute of limitations. The other 11 subsidiaries sought dismissal for lack of standing, stating that Capane didn’t have a contract with any of them nor had any claims denied.

“Plaintiff’s complaint is deficient as a matter of law and the deficiencies cannot be cured by amendment, the court should dismiss the complaint with prejudice,” the motion states.

It also states that Capane asked for $300,000 to settle his claim two months after the collision he was involved in, which was equal to the $100,000 limit of coverage for each of the three vehicles covered under his LM General policy. LM General denied his request and offered $100,000 — the policy limit on one covered vehicle and then filed suit this year.

“Plaintiff had to sue by December 15, 2019,” the motion states. “Plaintiff, however, did not file until May 13, 2024; four years and five months too late. Because Plaintiff’s suit is untimely, LM General ‘is not liable’ for UIM [underinsured motorist] benefits.”

Liberty Mutual didn’t respond to a request for comment from RDN by the publication deadline.

Images

Featured image credit: JHVEPhoto/iStock