In a bankruptcy adversary proceeding arising out of claims made by an insurer against the debtor insurance agency/reinsurer, a court dismissed the debtor’s counterclaims for breach of fiduciary duty and fraud. The agency contended that the insurer, which itself was in rehabilitation, concealed and misrepresented its poor financial condition and austerity measures that it was taking to address it, which the agency claimed caused it to suffer financial harm and loss of good will. The court held that the agency failed to state claims beyond breach of contract because (1) the insurer was not in a “superior position” of a fiduciary simply by possessing greater knowledge of its internal operations and financial status, and (2) the agency failed to allege facts demonstrating that the insurer owed a separate legal duty to it beyond the obligations of the agency agreement. In re Black, Davis, & Shue Agency, Inc., Case No. 11-00160 (USDC Bankr. M.D. Pa. June 28, 2012).
This post written by Michael Wolgin.
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