Hossain v. Mt. Hawley Insurance Company

Background

Kamal Hossain and Shahla Hossain brought a first-party property-insurance coverage dispute involving damage to real property. The opinion states that Mt. Hawley Insurance Company issued the policy and denied coverage for the plaintiffs' claim.

The plaintiffs asserted a breach-of-contract claim against Mt. Hawley for failing to pay amounts allegedly owed under the policy. They also asserted a negligence claim against Bass Underwriters for allegedly failing to obtain the insurance the plaintiffs requested, contingent on a determination that the underlying claim was not covered.

Motion and ruling

The plaintiffs and Mt. Hawley jointly moved under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 21 to drop Bass Underwriters as a party and dismiss the negligence claim against it without prejudice. The motion stated that Bass Underwriters had not appeared in the action and that the negligence claim was not ripe until the breach-of-contract claim against Mt. Hawley was decided and coverage was determined.

The court granted the motion. It dismissed the plaintiffs' negligence claim against Bass Underwriters, Inc., without prejudice; directed the clerk to terminate Bass Underwriters from the docket; and terminated the motion at ECF No. 33. The opinion states that the plaintiffs' breach-of-contract action against Mt. Hawley remains pending.