Quantcast

Judge ends insurance dispute over fire caused by murderer who threw gasoline in girlfriend's face

PENNSYLVANIA RECORD

Thursday, November 21, 2024

Judge ends insurance dispute over fire caused by murderer who threw gasoline in girlfriend's face

Federal Court
Shutterstock 84385555

PHILADELPHIA – A federal judge has dismissed a Bucks County company's bad faith claim against its insurer over a fire that damaged its business, ruling that moving forward with the case would be "futile."

In her seven-page memorandum opinion handed down Nov. 18, U.S. District Judge Wendy Beetlestone, on the bench in Pennsylvania's Eastern District, ruled that the insured failed to allege sufficient facts to support a bad faith claim and granted the motion to dismiss.

Beetlestone's opinion refers to a fire that damaged a business owned by the plaintiff in the case, Purvi LLC, in May 2017. Purvi apparently owns two adjacent motels in Feasterville-Trevose on Lincoln Highway, Route 1, between Philadelphia and Bensalem.


United States District Judge Wendy Beetlestone | law.upenn.edu/

One of the Purvi-owned properties, the Lincoln Hotel, was heavily damaged in a fire in May 2016 when a Philadelphia man killed his girlfriend by throwing a coffee cup of gasoline into her face while she was smoking at the Lincoln Motel. In addition to burning the woman to death, the fire reportedly caused about $1.8 million in property damage and threatened more than 40 guests and employees inside the motel at the time.

The man, Kevin Lamar Small, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in March of the following year and is expected to spend the rest of his life in prison. Small is not a party in the case before Beetlestone.  

As part of the aftermath of the 2016 fire, Purvi sued National Fire & Marine and another insurance company, KK Insurance Agency.

This past February, Beetlestone granted a KK Insurance motion to dismiss, ruling that Purvi failed to raise a genuine dispute of material fact about whether KK Insurance violated duties "to advise, or otherwise," following the 2016 fire.

Beetlestone's more-recent opinion refers to Purvi's allegations that National Fire & Marine improperly denied payment of benefits and didn't comply with a settlement agreement reached this past May that was supposed to resolve Purvi's claims in a separate action filed in January 2018.

Purvi claimed one count of breach of contract and another count of breach of good faith and fair dealing for National Fire & Marine's alleged failure to comply with the settlement agreement, in which the insurance company said it would issue a settlement check that named Purvi's mortgagee.

Purvi initially filed suit over the settlement agreement in Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas but National Fire & Marine removed the case to the federal court in September. National Fire & Marine also asked Beetlestone to dismiss Purvi's case for failure to state a claim for which damages could be awarded.

Beetlestone granted National Fire & Marine's motion, ruling that Purvi's claim "cannot survive as either a tort claim, or as an independent breach of good faith and fair dealing claim sounding in contract," the opinion said.

Beetlestone also denied Purvi leave to file a second amended complaint, "because, for the reasons set forth above, any amendment would be futile," the opinion said.

More News