In a federal lawsuit against an insurance company, the insured commercial business, represented by Attorney Jon Biller and Attorney Brianna Spinnato, filed a complaint alleging violations of Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act (CUTPA) and the Connecticut Unfair Insurance Practices Act (CUIPA). In order to appropriately plead these allegations, the insured must allege the insurance company engages in a general practice of unfair claims settlement by alleging the unfair practices occur with greater frequency than just the present case. In its complaint, the commercial insured listed other lawsuits and claims of unfair insurance practices against the insurance company.
Judge Warren W. Eginton denied the insurance company’s motion to dismiss the CUTPA/CUIPA allegations and sustained the insured’s objection. In this case, the insured was a commercial business and some of the claims of unfair insurance practices against the insurance company listed in the complaint, alleging a general business practice, were filed by homeowners, not commercial businesses. Judge Eginton agreed with the insured’s argument that allegations that the insurance company engaged in a general practice of unfair claims settlement can be sufficient to state a claim for violation of the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act, even if the other complainants were homeowners, and plaintiff is a commercial business.