Elmore v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance

MAYNARD, Justice:

We are called upon here to answer a certified question from the Circuit Court of Harrison County regarding the viability of a third-party common law bad faith insurance action. The certified question and the circuit court’s answer are as follows:

Whether, under West Virginia law, there is a legally cognizable cause of action by a third-party claimant against an insurance carrier for common law breach of fiduciary duty and for common law breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing (common law bad faith).

Answer of the circuit court: Yes.

This certified question…