Artie's Auto Body, Inc. v. Hartford Fire Ins. Co.

Summary

The court held that the insurer's practice of negotiating and using agreed hourly labor rates for auto body repairs did not violate the regulation governing the conduct of licensed appraisers and therefore could not support a CUTPA claim based on public policy. Because the plaintiffs' CUTPA claim failed as a matter of law, the court reversed the judgment and remanded with direction to render judgment for the defendant. The court did not decide whether the cigarette rule should be replaced by the federal substantial-unjustified-injury test.