Supreme Court of Alabama
Bailey v. Progressive Specialty Ins. Co., 1081801 (Ala. 4-29-2011)
April 29, 20112011 Ala. LEXIS 58
Summary
The court affirmed summary judgment for Progressive on Bailey's claims for uninsured-motorist benefits, breach of contract, and bad-faith failure to pay. Because Progressive intervened and successfully prevented the default judgment against the tortfeasor from binding it, Bailey could not rely solely on that judgment and instead had to prove her entitlement to benefits on the merits. The court rejected the trial court's subject-matter-jurisdiction rationale but affirmed on the ground that Bailey's claims, as pleaded, were not cognizable.