Court Upholds Plaintiff’s Claim For Damages Due To Deceptive Practices Against Mass. Casualty And DMS
Hauppauge, NY . . . In an unusual decision, the Court denied defendents’ Massachusetts Casualty Insurance Company (“Mass Casualty”) and Disability Management Services, Inc. (“DMS”) motion to dismiss a plaintiff’s claim for damages against them for deceptive business practices under New York’s General Business Law Section 349. This decision allowed the disability case against Mass. Casualty and DMS to move forward.
The Court often dismisses claims such as this when an insurance policy is the subject of the lawsuit finding the carrier’s actions are not aimed at the general public. However, in this case, the Court found that proof of these allegations (deceptive business practices) would be enough to establish that the actions of Mass. Casualty and DMS were targeting consumers, or the general public.
General Business Law Section 349 allows a plaintiff to recover compensatory damages, up to $1,000 in punitive damages, and attorneys’ fees if he or she is successful in a lawsuit.
“Unfortunately, we see this kind of behavior by insurance carriers all the time,” says John W. De Haan, partner at DeHaanBusse LLP, and lead counsel on the case. “Very often, these cases are classified as simple contract disputes between two parties – which means the claimant cannot even pursue a claim under General Business Law Section 349. As a result, even if the disabled person does ‘win’ at trial, all she recovers is her past due benefits. She is never made ‘whole’ in that situation because she had to live without her benefits (often her only source of income) for months or even years before the lawsuit is resolved.”
Without that income, the claimant and her family often suffer financial ruination, lose their home, and have their credit ratings detroyed.
“So,” says De Haan, “every time a judge allows a General Business Law Section 349 (relative to a disability claim) to go forward, the playing field is leveled . . . a little bit at least.”
DeHaanBusse LLP is a leading New York law firm focusing on disability law including Individual Disability Insurance Policies, Employer-Sponsored Benefit (ERISA) Plans, Federal Employee Retirement Systems (FERS/CSRS) disability claims, and Military Veteran Disability claims.