Birth Center v. St. Paul Companies, Inc.

Full title: The BIRTH CENTER v. The ST. PAUL COMPANIES, INC., Sharon Dawson-Coates and…

Court: Supreme Court of Pennsylvania

Date published: Mar 1, 2000

747 A.2d 858 (Pa. 2000)

747 A.2d 858

Opinion

March 1, 2000.

Petition of St. Paul Companies, Inc.

Petition Nos. 0579, 0580, 0581 and 0582 M.D. Alloc. Dkt. 1999 for Allowance of Appeal from the Order of the Superior Court.

Thomas P. Wagner, Joshua Bachrach, Carl D. Buchholz, Philadelphia, for petitioner.

Prior Report: Pa.Super., 727 A.2d 1144.

ORDER

PER CURIAM:

AND NOW, this 1st day of March, 2000, we GRANT the Petitions for Allowance of Appeal and we LIMIT the appeals to the following issues:

a. Whether the insurer's payment of the excess verdict precludes insured from maintaining a bad faith action;

b. Whether the trial court properly charged the jury on a breach of contract theory based on the insurer's bad faith conduct; and,

c. Whether compensatory damages are recoverable in a bad faith action.