Opinion ID: 1438920
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Statutory Interest and Attorney Fees

Text: The plaintiffs contend that the court erred in refusing to award them statutory interest and attorney fees under the late payment of claims statute, 24-A M.R.S.A. § 2436. That statute provides for the payment by an insurer of interest and attorney fees on certain claims that are not timely paid. See Burne v. John Hancock Mut. Life Ins. Co., 403 A.2d 775, 778 (Me.1979). A fire insurer has sixty days after receipt of an insured's proof of loss to either pay the claim, dispute the claim, or request reasonable additional information from the insured. Chiapetta v. Lumbermens Mut. Ins. Co., 583 A.2d 198, 200 (Me.1990). A request for an examination under oath, and for production of documents, can constitute reasonable additional information within the meaning of section 2436. Id. After requesting such additional information, a claim does not become overdue until sixty days following the insurer's receipt of the additional information. Farm Family requested an examination under oath, and the production of documents. Since Wayne neither submitted to an examination under oath, nor produced the requested documents, the plaintiffs' claim never became overdue under the late payment statute. The plaintiffs argue that the jury's bad-faith finding necessarily entitles them to the statutory interest and attorney fees. Since section 2436 is penal in nature, we apply a strict construction analysis. See Burne, 403 A.2d at 777. A requirement of good faith is not provided in section 2436, and, in the absence of any express legislative direction indicating such a requirement, we decline to imply such a condition. Accordingly, as Farm Family technically complied with the requirements of section 2436, the court did not err in refusing to award statutory interest and attorney fees.
The plaintiffs also claim entitlement to statutory interest and attorney fees under the unfair claims practices statute, 24-A M.R.S.A. § 2436-A. This demand was first made after the jury's verdict. Since the plaintiffs had not pled unfair claims practices, the court refused to permit an amendment to the complaint to add a claim under section 2436-A. We agree with the trial court. Not only did the plaintiffs fail to plead a cause of action generally under section 2436-A, the plaintiffs failed to specifically point to which of the four subsections of section 2436-A they claim Farm Family violated. The unfair claims practices statute sets forth four separate bases for an award of statutory interest and attorney fees, and the failure by the plaintiffs to allege and prove a specific violation precludes recovery under the statute. Accordingly, the trial court correctly denied awarding statutory interest and attorney fees on the basis of a violation of section 2436-A.