In EFG Bank AG, Cayman Branch v. AXA and The Duffy
2004 LLC v. AXA, in a February 14 ruling, AXA Equitable Life
Insurance Company earned a sweet victory on its motion for partial
dismissal of the complaints in two consolidated proceedings actions
challenging its COI rate increases . The Southern District
of New York dismissed the plaintiffs' breach of implied
covenant of good faith and fair dealing claims (both contractual
and tortious) and requests for punitive damages and declaratory
relief. AXA did not move to dismiss the plaintiffs' express
breach of contract claim. Its narrowly-focused motion succeeded in
all respects.
The contractual implied-covenant claims were dismissed as
duplicative of the express breach of contract claim. Notably, the
court distinguished these cases from prior COI opinions, denying
defendants' motions to dismiss and stating: "the policies
at issue in those cases did not explicitly constrain the insurers
to apply COI increases 'equitably'
