Summary
The United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana denied the plaintiffs’ motion for clerk’s entry of default against Progressive Southeastern Insurance Company. The court granted Progressive’s motion to dismiss the plaintiffs’ Indiana bad-faith insurance claim with prejudice, concluding that the amended complaint alleged no facts showing unfounded refusal or delay, deception, unfair settlement pressure, or conscious wrongdoing.
Court
United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, Indianapolis Division
Jurisdiction
United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana
Decision date
March 16, 2026
Docket number
1:25-cv-00681-JRS-MKK
Disposition
other
Questions Presented
- Whether the Wakleys were entitled to a clerk's entry of default because Progressive missed the deadline to answer the amended complaint.
- Whether the amended complaint plausibly alleged an Indiana insurance bad-faith claim under Rule 8(a).
Holdings
- A clerk's entry of default was unwarranted because Progressive had timely answered the original complaint, actively participated in the defense, promptly corrected its missed deadline by answering the amended complaint, and federal policy favors resolving disputes on the merits rather than by default.
- The amended complaint failed to state a plausible Indiana insurance bad-faith claim because it alleged no facts showing an unfounded refusal to pay, unfounded delay, deception, unfair pressure to settle, or conscious wrongdoing. The bad-faith claim was dismissed with prejudice.
Court Document
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