Alvarez v. Insurance Co. of North America

OPINION AND ORDER

LEGGE, District Judge.

This case involves the issue of whether the Miller Act, 40 U.S.C. § 270a et seq., preempts a state cause of action for unfair insurance practices under the California Insurance Code. 1

I

Plaintiff Nueva Castilla was a subcontractor to Feinstein Construction, the bonded general contractor, on a federal construction project in California. Defendant Insurance Company of North America (“INA”), a Pennsylvania corporation, issued the Miller Act Bond covering the project.

Nueva Castilla sued Feinstein and INA to recover under the Miller Act bond and for bad faith…