DeOliveira v. Liberty Mutual Insurance Company (Lawyers Weekly No. 09-016-17)
COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS SUFFOLK, ss. SUPERIOR COURT CIVIL ACTION No. 17-00218-BLS1 MONICA DEOLIVEIRA1 vs. LIBERTY MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY MEMORANDUM OF DECISION AND ORDER ON DEFENDANT’S MOTION TO DISMISS Plaintiff, Monica DeOliveira, seeks to recover from her automobile insurer, defendant, Liberty Mutual Insurance Company (Liberty), under a Massachusetts Automobile Insurance Policy (Policy). DeOliveira alleges that Liberty improperly failed to pay benefits under the Medical Payments (MedPay) provision of the Policy. DeOliveira’s Second Amended Complaint (Complaint) asserts three claims against Liberty: breach of contract (Count I), declaratory judgment (Count II), and violation of G.L. c. 93A (Count III).2 Liberty moves to dismiss all three claims for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted under Mass. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6).3 For the reasons stated below, Liberty’s motion to dismiss is denied. 1 On behalf of herself and all others similarly situated. 2 DeOliveira filed a Motion for Leave of Court to File a Second Amended Complaint on August 16, 2017, after the parties filed their memoranda on Liberty’s motion to dismiss. On August 18, 2017, this court allowed DeOliveira to file the Second Amended Complaint and noted that if new allegations in that version of the Complaint required supplemental briefing, the parties could file written memoranda on the date of the oral argument on the motion to dismiss. The parties declined to file supplemental memoranda. 3 Liberty also moves to dismiss on the ground of insufficiency of service of process. The motion to dismiss on that ground is denied. On April 18, 2017, DeOliveira filed a motion to BACKGROUND The facts as revealed by DeOliveira’s Complaint are as follows. DeOliveira is a resident of Worcester, Massachusetts. Liberty is a Massachusetts corporation with a principal place of business in Boston, Massachusetts. On October 28, 2010, DeOliveira purchased the Policy from Liberty. The Policy is attached to the Complaint as Exhibit A. The Policy includes up to $ 8,000 in personal injury protection (PIP) benefits. It also includes an optional coverage for up to $ 5,000 in MedPay benefits. DeOliveira paid an additional premium of $ 10 per vehicle for two vehicles for the MedPay coverage. The Policy’s MedPay provision (Part 6) states, in part: “Under this Part, we will pay reasonable expenses for necessary medical and funeral services incurred as a result of an accident. We will pay for expenses resulting from bodily injuries to anyone occupying your auto at the time of the accident.” In addition, the MedPay provision states that: “We will not pay under this Part for any expenses that are payable, or would have been payable except for the deductible, under the PIP coverage of this policy or any other Massachusetts auto policy.” The Policy’s PIP […]