Eric Chase v. Nationwide Mutual Fire Insurance Company

Citations

• 160 A.3d 970
• 2017 WL 2268894
• 2017 R.I. LEXIS 63

Syllabus

The plaintiff, Eric Chase, appealed from a Superior Court order granting the motion of the defendant, Nationwide Mutual Fire Insurance Company, for judgment on the pleadings pursuant to Rule 12(c) of the Superior Court Rules of Civil Procedure. In his suit, the plaintiff-homeowner sought damages from his insurer, the defendant, because the plaintiff alleged that the defendant breached the insurance contract that the defendant had issued to the plaintiff. On appeal, the plaintiff argued that the hearing justice erred when he granted judgment on the pleadings because: (1) the defendant did not establish beyond a reasonable doubt that there were no facts that could entitle the plaintiff to relief and (2) the contractually imposed two-year limitations period to bring suit should not begin to run until the defendant breached the contract by refusing to pay the claim. The Supreme Court held that, even if all of the facts in the plaintiff's complaint were true, the plaintiff could not overcome the two-year limitations provision contained within the insurance contract. Accordingly, the Supreme Court affirmed the Superior Court's judgment.