Case Title: Webb v. International Indem. Co.

Citation: 599 So. 2d 1144

Docket Number: 1901758

State: alabama

Court: Alabama Supreme Court

Date: 1992-06-05T00:00:00Z

Document:
599 So. 2d 1144 (1992)
James Kenneth WEBB, Jr.
v.
INTERNATIONAL INDEMNITY COMPANY.
1901758.

Supreme Court of Alabama.
June 5, 1992.
*1145 J.P. Courtney III and Michael C. Niemeyer of Lyons, Pipes & Cook, P.C., Mobile, for appellant.
Davis Carr and James W. Lampkin II of Pierce, Carr & Alford, Mobile, for appellee.
ADAMS, Justice.
James Kenneth Webb, Jr., appeals from a summary judgment entered in favor of International Indemnity Company on his claim that International Indemnity acted in bad faith by refusing to pay a claim filed pursuant to his insurance policy. We affirm.
On October 31, 1989, Webb was involved in an automobile accident with Butch Weaver. Weaver's insurance carrier, Alfa Insurance Company, accepted liability for Webb's property damages, and International Indemnity was notified of that fact in November 1989. It appears that in November Webb's attorney notified International Indemnity that he was attempting to work out a settlement with Alfa with regard to the damage to the vehicle; however, the settlement fell through for the entire amount of the loss and Webb then sought compensation from International Indemnity. He also sought compensation for the money expended on a rental vehicle.[1] In support of its motion for summary judgment, International Indemnity offered the affidavit of Kelly Banks, who handled Webb's claim for International Indemnity. In her affidavit, Ms. Banks stated that she opened a claim file for Webb on November 7, 1989, and requested a police report on that date. She further stated that she wrote a letter to Webb inquiring as to whether he would be making a claim pursuant to his collision coverage. She said that on November 15 she was notified that Weaver's insurer, Alfa, would be handling his damage claim, so that when she received the police report toward the end of November she took no further action, because no claim had been filed. According to Ms. Banks's affidavit, correspondence from Webb's attorney was thereafter forwarded to Ms. Banks; that correspondence referenced damages "not otherwise satisfied by Alfa." She stated that she called Webb's attorney on January 11, 1990, and the following is recorded in her "case development summary":
Banks stated in her affidavit:
She further stated:
After having difficulty locating the wrecked vehicle for examination, International Indemnity did locate it in September 1990, and it inspected the vehicle on October 3. International Indemnity made an offer of settlement to Webb on October 22, 1990.
This Court has written:
Miller v. Preferred Risk Mut. Ins. Co., 572 So. 2d 1260, 1262 (Ala.1990).
Coleman v. Gulf Life Ins. Co., 514 So. 2d 944, 946 (Ala.1987).
*1147 It is clear from Ms. Banks's affidavit that there was no bad faith involved in the case at bar, and that the trial court correctly entered International Indemnity's summary judgment. Although there may have been some miscommunications between the parties (e.g., Ms. Banks said, "While the request was made to process plaintiff's claim `for all the damages covered by his policy,' there still was no response as to whether plaintiff's counsel wanted to reach an independent settlement with Alfa with regard to the property damage on the car and allow International Indemnity's subrogation rights; or alternatively, file a claim on the collision coverage of the plaintiff's car with our company"), there simply was no evidence offered by the plaintiff tending to show that International Indemnity was, as he said, "stringing him along." In fact, International Indemnity paid Webb's medical claims from the outset.
Webb contends that our recent opinion in Livingston v. Auto Owners Ins. Co., 582 So. 2d 1038 (Ala.1990) (wherein this Court held that a jury question was presented with regard to a failure to pay on Mrs. Livingston's insurance contract within 3 months of the fire that destroyed her residence) stands for the proposition that the delay in this case created at least a jury question on the issue of bad faith. We disagree. In Livingston, fire destroyed a rental house owned by the Livingstons. The house had been insured by Auto Owners and, while the fire was determined to have been deliberately set, there was absolutely no evidence linking the fire to the Livingstons. We held:
582 So. 2d  at 1042-43.
Miller v. Preferred Risk Mut. Ins. Co., 572 So. 2d 1260 (Ala.1990). Under the facts of this case, there simply was no evidence of an intention to deny the claim. International Indemnity paid Webb's medical claims, and it appears from the evidence that it awaited Webb's decision regarding whether he would be able to settle the claim with Alfa. Although Webb contends that International Indemnity ignored his demands to settle the claim, the record indicates that at best there was a misunderstanding between Webb and International Indemnity as to his intentions with regard to whether he would be processing his claim with Alfa.
For the foregoing reasons, the summary judgment is hereby affirmed.
AFFIRMED.
HORNSBY, C.J., and ALMON, STEAGALL and INGRAM, JJ., concur.
[1]  It appears that Webb's attorney continuously sought reimbursement for the rental expenses of another vehicle; however, such expenses were not covered by his insurance policy.