August 8, 2023

Rosenberg-Wohl v. State Farm Fire and Casualty Company

Plaintiff’s homeowner’s insurance claim was denied by plaintiff’s insurer because she made her claim after expiration of her policy’s one-year claim limitation period. Plaintiff sued the insurer for violation of California’s Unfair Competition Law (UCL).  Claiming that she was seeking no damages and only an injunction, she argued that the 4-year limitation period in the UCL applied to her claims.  The trial court sustained a demurrer, ruling that the one-year limitation period in the policy applied.  Plaintiff appealed.

The Court of Appeal affirmed in a 2-1 decision.  The court found that plaintiff’s  argument required proof of economic injury as a result of the insurer’s actions, and thus was indistinguishable from a claim seeking policy benefits governed by the policy’s one-year claim limitation period. The dissenting opinion argued that plaintiff’s UCL claim is not subject to the insurance policy’s one-year limitation period because her request for injunction is not an action included in the policy.