Capel v. Plymouth Rock Assurance Corp.

Case Updates

The court declined to address the certified question briefed by NCLC and instead ruled that the trial court must first determine if a contract ever existed.

NCLC urged the Connecticut Supreme Court to rule that plaintiffs may not recover contract damages that exceed the insurance policy's limits absent a showing of bad faith on the part of the insurance company for breach of the duty to defend. This cases arises from a lawsuit filed by the appellants that sought to recover on a default judgement of over $3 million against one of the appellants' putative customers, who had a $300,000 insurance policy. In its amicus brief, NCLC argued that allowing contract damages to exceed insurance policy limits would create a conflict with basic principles of Connecticut contract and tort law, fundamentally alter the framework of Connecticut's insurance law and increase insurance companies' potential liability on all insurance policies issued in Connecticut.