Opinion ID: 1615151
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Bad Faith Refusal To Pay Claim.

Text: In National Savings Life Ins. Co. v. Dutton, 419 So.2d 1357, 1362 (Ala.1982), this Court explained: In the normal case in order for a plaintiff to make out a prima facie case of bad faith refusal to pay an insurance claim, the proof offered must show that the plaintiff is entitled to a directed verdict on the contract claim and, thus, entitled to recover on the contract claim as a matter of law. Ordinarily, if the evidence produced by either side creates a fact issue with regard to the validity of the claim and, thus, the legitimacy of the denial thereof, the tort claim must fail and should not be submitted to the jury. There is nothing in the record indicating that this case falls beyond the normal. Not only does the proof in this case fail to show that Strickland was entitled to a directed verdict, but, to the contrary, the evidence supports the verdict of the jury in favor of Farm Bureau. Thus, the tort claim failed as a matter of law. Mordecai v. Blue Cross-Blue Shield, 474 So.2d 95 (Ala.1985); Dutton, supra .