Wilson v. 21st Century Ins.

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Filed 12/19/07 IN THE SUPREME COURT OF CALIFORNIA REAGAN WILSON, ) ) Plaintiff and Appellant, ) ) v. ) ) 21ST CENTURY INSURANCE ) COMPANY, ) ) Defendant and Respondent. ) ___________________________________ ) S141790 Ct.App. 2/7 B180323 Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. BC301588 MODIFICATION OF OPINION THE COURT: The court s opinion filed November 29, 2007, is modified as follows: Footnote 7 on page 12 of the filed opinion is modified to read: In this connection, we find potentially misleading the statements in some decisions to the effect that under the genuine dispute rule bad faith cannot be established where the insurer s withholding of benefits is reasonable or is based on a legitimate dispute as to the insurer s liability. (Century Surety Co. v. Polisso (2006) 139 Cal.App.4th 922, 949, italics added; see also Chateau Chamberay Homeowners Assn. v. Associated Internat. Ins. Co., supra, 90 Cal.App.4th at p. 346 [ if reasonable or if based on a legitimate dispute ]; Tomaselli v. Transamerica Ins. Co. (1994) 25 Cal.App.4th 1269, 1281 [same].) In the insurance bad faith context, a dispute is not legitimate unless it is founded on a basis that is reasonable under all the circumstances. This modification eliminates a reference to Delgado v. Interinsurance Exchange of the Automobile Club (2007) 152 Cal.App.4th 671, a decision of which this court has granted review, and does not affect the judgment. This modification does not effect a change in the judgment.

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