Procedural Posture

Plaintiff insured appealed an order of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County (California), which sustained defendant insurer's demurrer and dismissed a putative class action complaint for violation of California's unfair competition law (UCL), Bus. & Prof. Code, § 17200 et seq., based on allegations that the insurer violated Ins. Code, § 758.5.

Overview: california breach of fiduciary duty statute of limitations

The complaint alleged that the insurer had failed to inform the insured of his statutory right to select the facility that would repair his vehicle after an accident. The court held that although § 758.5 had not created a private right of action to enforce its provisions, a UCL action alleging a violation of § 758.5 was permissible because there was no express legislative direction to the contrary in § 758.5. A civil action under the UCL could not be based on conduct that violated the Unfair Insurance Practices Act (UIPA), Ins. Code, § 790 et seq., but was not otherwise prohibited. An alleged violation of other statutes applicable to insurers, however, could serve as the predicate for a UCL claim absent an express legislative direction to the contrary. Ins. Code, § 1861.03, subd. (a), made the business of insurance generally subject to the UCL. Because the insured's complaint did not allege a violation of the UIPA and the allegedly unlawful conduct at issue was not analogous to the bad faith practices addressed by the UIPA, the court concluded that the insured's allegations that the insurer violated § 758.5 properly stated a cause of action for unfair competition.

Outcome

The court reversed the order dismissing the action.