Brewer v. Allstate Insurance Company CA1/5

Filed 2/18/22 Brewer v. Allstate Insurance Company CA1/5 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 8.1115(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or or dered published for pur- poses of rule 8.1115.

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

FIRST APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION FIVE

EMMA S. BREWER, Plaintiff and Appellant, A158846, A159485 v. ALLSTATE INSURANCE (Contra Costa County COMPANY, Super. Ct. No. MSC15- 01326) Defendant and Respondent.

The trial court entered an order confirming an arbitration award which denied plaintiff Emma S. Brewer any recovery under the uninsured motorist (UM) coverage of a policy issued by defendant Allstate Insurance Company (Allstate). The court also granted a motion for judgment on the pleadings on Brewer’s remaining claims based on the denial of that coverage. We affirm the order confirming the arbitration award, but reverse the motion granting judgment on the pleadings and remand to the trial court with instructions to grant leave to amend the complaint. I. BACKGROUND Brewer was insured under an automobile insurance policy issued by Allstate. She sustained injuries on July 29, 2013, and

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claimed that a hit-and-run driver had struck her vehicle as she was traveling eastbound on Highway 24 and pushed her car into the rear end of another vehicle. She claimed coverage under the UM section of her policy. On July 24, 2015, Brewer demanded that Allstate arbitrate her UM claim under Insurance Code section 11580.2, subdivision (f).1 Four days later, on July 28, 2015, she filed a complaint against Allstate in superior court, containing causes of action for (1) personal injury—motor vehicle/uninsured motorist damage; (2) breach of contract; (3) contractual breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing; (4) tortious breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing; (5) bad faith and (6) unfair trade practices. Following an arbitration, the arbitrator issued an award on October 29, 2018, stating that Brewer would “take nothing by way of her claim.” In a letter addressed to all counsel for the parties dated November 9, 2018, the arbitrator explained the reason for his award: “I have concluded that claimant has not met the threshold question of whether this amounts to a valid UM (hit and run) claim, as there is insufficient evidence to support the claim of contact with a claimed hit and run vehicle. Critical to this finding is the testimony and report of expert witness Pinkston, the photographs of the left rear door and