Wilbers v. Geico Cas. Co.
| Decision Date | 05 September 2018 |
| Docket Number | Civil No: 15-cv-00080-GFVT |
| Citation | 338 F.Supp.3d 644 |
| Parties | Angela WILBERS, Plaintiff, v. GEICO CASUALTY COMPANY, Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Kentucky |
Elizabeth Ann Thornsbury, M. Austin Mehr, Philip G. Fairbanks, Bartley K. Hagerman, Erik David Peterson, Mehr Fairbanks & Peterson Trial Lawyers, PLLC, Lexington, KY, Samuel Ryan Newcomb, Johnson Newcomb, LLP, Frankfort, KY, for Plaintiff.
Bradly Edward Moore, Diane Rose Conley, Kopka Pinkus Dolin, PC - KY, Lexington, KY, for Defendants.
Angela Wilbers was involved in a car wreck with Geico's insured, Thomas Mangold, on January 31, 2014. After settlement negotiations failed, Wilbers filed suit against Mangold in Franklin Circuit Court on December 22, 2014. The Complaint was ultimately amended to include claims of common law bad faith and a violation of the Kentucky Unfair Claims Settlement Practices Act (KUCSPA) against Geico Casualty Company. Wilbers subsequently accepted a settlement offer, and Franklin Circuit Court dismissed all claims against Mangold, thereby leaving outstanding only the claims against Geico. Geico timely removed the action to this Court pursuant its diversity jurisdiction and then filed a Motion for Summary Judgment.1 For the reasons explained below, Geico's Renewed Motion for Summary Judgment will be GRANTED .
On January 31, 2014, Angela Wilbers was a passenger in a vehicle that was involved in a car wreck with Thomas Mangold, Geico's insured. [R. 56-1 at 1.] According to the police report, Mangold was "inattentive" when he rear-ended Wilbers's car, which was stopped in traffic. [R. 59-2 at 3-4.] Wilbers, as the passenger in her vehicle, claims she was reaching down to retrieve something on the floor when the car was rear-ended, which caused her to hit her head on the dashboard resulting in pain in her head, neck, and back. [R. 59 at 2.] The other two individuals involved in the wreck suffered no injuries. [R. 56-1 at 2.]
Following the accident, Wilbers was transported by ambulance to Baptist Hospital, where she was diagnosed with a thoracic strain, a cervical strain, and a head contusion. [R. 59 at 2; R. 59-3 at 115.] An MRI on February 4, 2014, revealed Wilbers had "degenerative disc space disease of the cervical spine," or "significant degenerative disc disease." [See R. 59-3 at 160; 163.] According to one doctor, Wilbers had a "nerve root entrapment and ... preexisting degenerative osteoarthritis, which clearly has been aggravated by her accident." [R. 59-3 at 163.] The doctors recommended physical therapy and gave her work restrictions for six months. [See R. 59 at 3; R. 59-3 at 164.] However, during an independent medical evaluation on August 20, 2014, Dr. James Owen concluded that Wilbers had no active impairment prior to the wreck and that, based on his understanding, Wilbers had no preexisting difficulty. [R. 59-2 at 3; R. 59-3 at 319-20.]
On September 2, 2014, Wilbers sent a settlement demand to Geico seeking "all policy limits." [R. 56-1 at 4.] The demand itemized medical expenses at $15,401.28 and lost wages at $5,788.46; however, at that time, Wilbers only provided documentation supporting $9,871.60 in medical expenses with no supporting documentation for her claim to lost wages. [R. 56-1 at 4.] Wilbers later supplemented her supporting documentation and, in doing so, increased the number of lost-work days and total lost wages. [Id. at 6.] This supplemental documentation increased Wilbers's lost wages to $7,897.50, but claimed even more undocumented lost wages, bringing the total lost wages to $8,447.40. [R. 56-4 at 258.] Geico received no further documentation for the remaining alleged medical expenses. [R. 56-1 at 6.] According to Wilbers, Geico's claim file indicates both a submitted and evaluated damages total of $23,568.78, and Geico's claims agent, Miranda Baggett, had received authorization to offer Wilbers the full policy limit of $25,000. [R. 59 at 4-5.] The claim file also included an entry stating "[i]njury consultation not required because of obvious policy limits," [see R. 59-5 at 22], but the parties dispute whether that statement was entered before or after the settlement.
On September 19, 2014, less that three weeks after Wilbers's policy-limits demand, Baggett made an initial settlement counteroffer of $12,621. [R. 59 at 5.] In a voicemail left the same day, Baggett advised Wilbers's attorney that two months of lost wages appeared to be excessive based on the documentation provided. [R. 56-1 at 7; R. 56-4 at 4.] Geico attempted to follow up on the offer multiple times before Wilbers's attorney informed Geico on October 8, 2014, that he was not authorized to negotiate and that Wilbers was considering filing suit. [R. 56-1 at 7.] Geico advised it was willing to negotiate further, but that it believed the records showed no recent treatment and demonstrated only possible aggravation of a preexisting condition. [Id. ] Counsel for Wilbers indicated Wilbers had begun treatment again and would like to send additional documents for review. [Id. ] Geico indicated it was willing to continue settlement negotiations and would review the additional documents; however, Geico never received any additional documentation. [Id. at 7-8.] Instead, Wilbers elected to file suit against Mangold and sent Geico a copy of the complaint on December 23, 2014. [Id. at 8.]
During the litigation, Geico continued to review the complaint, and, on March 11, 2015, Geico offered $25,000 to resolve the claim against Mangold. [Id. ] Wilbers accepted the offer four months later because she had been out of town for work. [Id. ] Subsequently, Wilbers amended her complaint to add claims against Geico for common law bad faith and a violation of KUCSPA. [Id. ] Franklin Circuit Court ultimately dismissed Wilbers's claims against Mangold. [R. 1 at 2.] After becoming aware that Wilbers's claim against Geico satisfied this Court's diversity jurisdiction requirements, Geico timely removed the action. [R. 1.] In Wilbers's response to the Renewed Motion for Summary Judgment, she concedes to the dismissal of her common law bad faith claim. [R. 59 at 1, n.1.] Thus, the only claim before the Court on this Renewed Motion for Summary Judgment is the violation of the KUCSPA.
Summary judgment is appropriate "if the movant shows that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Fed. R. Civ. P. 56. "A genuine dispute exists on a material fact, and thus summary judgment is improper, if the evidence shows ‘that a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the nonmoving party.’ " Olinger v. Corporation of the President of the Church , 521 F.Supp.2d 577, 582 (E.D. Ky. 2007) (quoting Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc. , 477 U.S. 242, 255, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986) ). Stated another way, "[t]he mere existence of a scintilla of evidence in support of the plaintiff's position will be insufficient; there must be evidence on which the jury could reasonably find for the plaintiff." Anderson , 477 U.S. at 252, 106 S.Ct. 2505.
The moving party has the initial burden of demonstrating the basis for its motion and identifying those parts of the record that establish the absence of a genuine issue of material fact. Chao v. Hall Holding , 285 F.3d 415, 424 (6th. Cir. 2002). Moreover, the movant may satisfy its burden by showing "that there is an absence of evidence to support the non-moving party's case." Celotex Corp. v. Catrett , 477 U.S. 317, 325, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). Once the movant has satisfied this burden, the non-moving party must go beyond the pleadings and come forward with specific facts to demonstrate there is a genuine issue for trial. Fed. R. Civ. P. 56 ; Holding Hall , 285 F.3d at 424 (citing Celotex , 477 U.S. at 324, 106 S.Ct. 2548 ). Moreover, Holding Hall , 285 F.3d at 424 (internal citations omitted).
When applying the summary judgment standard, the Court must review the facts and draw all reasonable inferences in favor of the non-moving party. Logan v. Denny's, Inc. , 259 F.3d 558, 566 (6th Cir. 2001) (citing Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc. , 477 U.S. 242, 255, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986) ). However, the Court is under no duty to "search the entire record to establish that it is bereft of a genuine issue of material fact." In re Morris , 260 F.3d 654, 655 (6th Cir. 2001). Rather, "the nonmoving party has an affirmative duty to direct the court's attention to those specific portions of the record upon which it seeks to rely to create a genuine issue of material fact." Id.
The Kentucky Unfair Claims Settlement Practices Act (KUCSPA), KRS § 304.12-230, "is intended to protect the public from unfair trade practices and fraud" of insurance companies. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co. v. Reeder , 763 S.W.2d 116, 118 (Ky. 1988). Under the Act, both first-party insureds and third-party claimants, such as Wilbers, may sue insurance companies for various wrongs, including bad faith negotiations when denying a claim. See id. ; Motorists Mut. Ins. Co. v. Glass , 996 S.W.2d 437, 452 (Ky. 1997). A valid KUCSPA cause of action is present if the following elements are satisfied:
(1) the insurer must be obligated to pay the claim under the terms of the policy; (2) the insurer must lack a reasonable basis in law or fact for denying the claim; and (3) it must be shown that the insurer either knew there was no reasonable basis for denying the claim or acted with reckless disregard for whether such a basis existed.
Wittmer v. Jones , 864 S.W.2d 885, 890 (Ky. 1993). Thus, the burden is on Wilbers to offer proof of all three elements for her...
To continue reading
Request your trial