Opinion ID: 1163274
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: the counsel-fee award

Text: Brashier argues that because he was the prevailing party in a bad-faith claim against his UM insurer for failure to pay under the terms of an insurance policy, he is entitled to a counsel-fee award under the teachings of Christian, as well as under the terms of § 3629(B), which sources, when combined, serve to support the allowance of counsel fee and prejudgment interest in all insurance litigation other than that for ex contractu recovery of UM coverage. The exclusion of UM coverage, Brashier urges, applies only to actions brought directly against the insurer for recovery of UM proceeds. He argues that because the terms of § 3629(B) have been used as a basis for awarding counsel fees, costs and interest in other insurance bad-faith actions, [8] it should also apply to his case. The insurer counters that § 3629(B) excludes not only ex contractu claims under the UM coverage but also ex delicto bad-faith claims for refusal to pay the UM policy limits.