Insurance – Uninsured Motorist Coverage

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7^th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: Gina Bernacchi v. First Chicago Insurance Company

Case No.: 21-3363

Officials: EASTERBROOK, ROVNER, and ST. EVE, Circuit Judges.

Focus: Insurance – Uninsured Motorist Coverage

Gina Bernacchi was travelling in a taxicab insured by First Chicago Insurance Company when an uninsured driver collided with the vehicle. After an Illinois court ruled that the insurance policy covered her, she asked First Chicago for compensation for injuries and expenses she claims she incurred because of the crash. The insurance company has not been acting in a timely manner, she alleges, so she brought this suit seeking specific performance to “adjust her claim”—that is, (1) admit or deny liability and (2) state the amount of compensatory damages to which she is entitled and the factual basis for that figure. The district court dismissed, finding that her claim was premised on Illinois Insurance Code provisions that do not provide a private right of action. On appeal, Bernacchi argues that the district court inappropriately dismissed her claim on a basis not presented or briefed. She also argues that the district court erred in concluding that her claim was based on violations of Illinois law rather than provisions of the contract and that the court improperly denied her leave to amend her complaint.

The district court did not err in dismissing Bernacchi’s claim based on the fact that the Illinois law underlying  her  claim does not provide a private cause of action. Whether Bernacchi could sue under these statutes and regulations was an antecedent issue to those raised in the parties’ briefs, and it was not a violation of the party presentation rule for the court to consider it. The court also properly denied Bernacchi leave to amend her complaint because amendment would be futile.

Affirmed

Decided 10/20/22

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