Creation Supply, Inc. v. Selective Insurance Co. of the Southeast

995 F.3d 576 (7th Cir. 2021)

Words & Phrases

Bad Faith: Statutory

Trial Judge

Charles P. Kocoras

Appellate Judge

Kanne

Holding

Policyholder could not recover extracontractual damages for an insurer's failure to pay an Illinois court judgment for fees and expenses associated with an underlying claim.

Fact Summary

Section 155 permits an insured to seek extracontractual damages from an insurer in any case in which at least one of three issues remains undecided: (1) the insurer’s liability un­der the policy, (2) the amount of the loss payable under the policy, or (3) whether there was an unreasonable delay in set­tling a claim.

None of these three threshold issues remains undecided here: (1) Selective’s liability under its policy with CSI was re­solved by the Illinois Appellate Court in 2015; (2) the amount of loss payable by Selective to CSI under the policy was deter­mined by the Illinois Appellate Court in 2017; and (3) CSI does not seek recovery for any unreasonable delay by Selective in settling CSI’s claim. In summary, none of CSI’s extracontrac-tual issues remains undecided. As a result, CSI cannot pursue Section 155 damages in this action.

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