Opinion
No. 02-2333-CM.
August 21, 2006
MEMORANDUM AND ORDER
This case is before the court on Plaintiff's Motion for Summary Judgment (Doc. 111). The issue before the court is limited: Did Shelter Mutual Insurance Co., as a matter of law, act negligently when it failed to accept or otherwise respond to plaintiff's April 11, 2002 policy limits settlement offer? The Tenth Circuit has observed that Shelter did, in fact, fail to comply with the Unfair Claims Settlement Practices Model Regulation § 6(a), which has been adopted by Kansas. Regulation § 6(a) provides that "every insurer, upon receiving notification of a claim shall, within ten working days, acknowledge the receipt of such notice unless payment is made within such period of time." The Tenth Circuit held that this court erred when it found that Shelter's conduct could not, as a matter of law, constitute negligence, particularly in light of Regulation § 6(a).
The Tenth Circuit ruling does not, however, direct this court to enter judgment in favor of plaintiff on this claim. Nor does it suggest that judgment as a matter of law is appropriate on this claim. After reviewing the record and the evidence, the court finds that genuine issues of material fact exist as to whether Shelter's conduct was negligent.
IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that Plaintiff's Motion for Summary Judgment (Doc. 111) is denied.