Opinion ID: 1892991
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Common Law ad Faith

Text: The plaintiff also contends that the trial justice should have submitted her common law bad-faith claim to the jury. To succeed on a common law bad-faith claim in Rhode Island, a plaintiff must demonstrate the absence of a reasonable basis for denying the policy benefits and that defendant had knowledge or recklessly disregarded the lack of a reasonable basis for denying the claim. See Skaling v. Aetna Insurance Co., 799 A.2d 997,1004 (R.I.2002). The plaintiff could not prevail on this claim for one simple reason: there is a reasonable basis for defendant to deny plaintiff a pro rata share of the annual dividend. The policy clearly states that an award of a dividend is paid, if at all, only on the policy anniversary date. Therefore, the trial justice correctly decided that plaintiff's bad-faith claim failed as a matter of law.