Ford v. Progressive Specialty Ins. Co., 2025 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 39728 (Pa. Eastern Dist. Ct., March 5, 2025)(Slomsky, J.)
This case arises from a dispute over benefits Plaintiff Michael J. Ford (“Plaintiff”) believed he had under his auto insurance policy (the “Progressive Specialty Policy”) issued by Defendant Progressive Specialty Insurance Company (“Defendant” or “Progressive”). Plaintiff, riding his motorcycle, collided with a car on Route 113 near Deerfield Place in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, on August 13, 2020. When the payments from the company insuring the driver of the car and from Plaintiff’s own insurance company insuring him and his motorcycle were not enough to compensate him for his injuries, Plaintiff filed a claim with Defendant seeking recovery of underinsured motorist benefits pursuant a separate policy he had purchased from Defendant insuring two automobiles. Defendant denied the claim. Plaintiff then filed, individually, and on behalf of similarly situated persons, this case essentially asserting that the denial of the underinsured motorist benefit under the Progressive Specialty Policy was a breach of contract pursuant to Pennsylvania Supreme Court decision Donovan v. State Farm, 256 A.3d 1145 (Pa. 2021). The Progressive Specialty Policy is the contract that was allegedly breached. Before the Court is Plaintiff’s Motion for Class Certification (Doc. No. 75) on Count II of the Complaint, which is essentially a breach of contract claim. He seeks to certify a class on only the issue of liability, leaving the adjudication of class members’ individual damages for subsequent proceedings. Liability in this case will turn on whether Defendant breached the automobile policy it issued to Plaintiff and other potential class members. (See Doc. No. 75-1 at 1.) Plaintiff asserts that the requirements of Federal Rules of Procedure 23(a) and 23(b)(3)6 are met, and the Court should therefore certify the class for purposes of determining liability only. (Id.) Plaintiff defines the class as: All individuals who are named insureds or insureds under policies issued in Pennsylvania by Progressive Insurance Specialty Company, who were injured in motor vehicle accidents as a result of the negligence of an uninsured [motorist] (“UM”) or an underinsured motorist (“UIM”) but who were denied uninsured and/or underinsured motorist benefits by reason of: (a) the unstacked coverage provided by the Policy; and/or (b) the [household/regular-use] exclusion.
