State Of West Virginia Ex Rel. Safe-Guard Products International, Llc, v. Thompson

772 S.E.2d 603 (2015)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

P and her former husband, Johnny Hinkle, purchased a 2006 Monte Carlo from C&O Motors, a dealership. The purchase price was $20,552.70. P financed $19,718.20. The salesman for the dealership asked P if she wanted to purchase GAP Insurance. P was told that the GAP Insurance would relieve them of payment owed on the vehicle if it was declared a total loss as a result of an accident, and more was owed for the vehicle than the value assigned to it at the time it was totaled. P purchased the GAP Insurance at a cost of $495. On June 1, 2011, P was involved in an automobile accident. The vehicle was declared a total loss by her insurer State Farm. P's insurer paid $7,285.00, as the actual cash value of the car, to the vehicle's finance note holder, Santander Consumer. After payment was made P was left owing Santander approximately $4,698.81 on the purchase price. P contacted D and submitted a claim to cover the balance owed on the vehicle under the GAP Insurance she had purchased. D denied coverage, allegedly on the grounds of prior delinquent payments on the vehicle, deferred payments, and late charges P incurred during the life of the loan. P filed this action alleging breach of contract and statutory and common law bad faith. P filed a motion for partial summary judgment on the narrow issue of whether the GAP Insurance provided by D constituted insurance under the laws of West Virginia. The circuit court found that the GAP Insurance was, insurance. P sought a writ of prohibition to preclude enforcement of the partial summary judgment order.