Opinion ID: 880009
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: issues

Text: The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals case, Hayes v. Prudential Insurance Co. of America (9th Cir.1987), 819 F.2d 921, is dispositive of this issue. In Hayes, the appellants' state law claims were: 1) breach of contract, 2) breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, and 3) violations of the California Insurance Code. The Ninth Circuit specifically held Tort claims arising out of the manner in which a benefit claim is handled are not separable from the terms of the contract ... Moreover, the claims `relate to' the plan under section 8902(m)(1) as long as they have a connection with or refer to the plan... . All appellants' state law claims refer to the plan, and therefore fall under the premption clause. Hayes, 819 F.2d at 926. These claims are governed by federal law and not state law. Federal law does not provide a cause of action for breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing in tort. We affirm issue II. We remand for further proceedings in accordance with this opinion. TURNAGE, C.J., and HARRISON, WEBER, GULBRANDSON, SHEEHY, and HUNT, JJ., concur.