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Appeals court weighs scope of insurer liability as counsel disputes overlap of negligence, breach and 176D claims
Summary
In Vento v. Vermont Mutual, counsel argued whether negligence and breach‑of‑contract counts should be dismissed because Chapter 176D and G.L. c.93A provide the exclusive remedy for certain insurer conduct; parties debated whether a first‑party insured may pursue a separate negligence claim.
The Appeals Court heard argument in Bento (Vento) v. Vermont Mutual about the relationship between a first‑party insured’s claims for negligence and breach of contract and statutory claims under G.L. c.176D and c.93A. The insurer moved below to dismiss the negligence and contract counts as duplicative of the 176D statutory remedy; the trial judge later allowed 176D and 93A claims but dismissed the negligence and breach claims sua sponte at a pretrial conference.
Counsel for the insured,…
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