Bengt Salomonsson v. ACE American Insurance Company

Summary

The United States District Court for the District of Utah granted ACE American Insurance Company’s motion for summary judgment and denied Bengt Salomonsson’s motion for partial summary judgment. The court held that Fortive’s waiver of underinsured motorist coverage satisfied Utah’s statutory disclosure requirements, defeating Salomonsson’s breach of contract, implied covenant, and fraud claims.

Holdings

1. A waiver of underinsured-motorist coverage is effective under Utah Code section 31A-22-305.3(3)(b)(v) when the acknowledgment form discloses the additional premium required to purchase the single mandated level of UIM coverage calculated under the statute; the statute does not require disclosure of two separate premium amounts for the two components of the statutory coverage formula.
2. ACE did not breach the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing by refusing to provide UIM coverage because the effective waiver meant that ACE had no contractual obligation to provide that coverage.
3. Salomonsson's fraud claim fails as a matter of law because ACE's representation that he lacked UIM coverage was true.
4. ACE was entitled to summary judgment on all claims, and Salomonsson was not entitled to partial summary judgment on his breach-of-contract claim.

Questions Presented

1. Whether Fortive's waiver of underinsured-motorist coverage complied with Utah Code section 31A-22-305.3(3)(b)(v) when the waiver form disclosed one additional premium amount rather than separate premiums for each of the two possible coverage limits.
2. Whether ACE could be liable for breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing when the insurance policy provided no underinsured-motorist coverage because coverage had been effectively waived.
3. Whether ACE could be liable for fraud based on its representation that Salomonsson lacked underinsured-motorist coverage when the waiver was effective.
4. Whether ACE was entitled to summary judgment and Salomonsson was entitled to partial summary judgment on the undisputed contents of the waiver form.

Disposition

other