No. 27893 (July 8, 2008)
Opinion [pdf]
OPINION OF THE COURT BY LEVINSON, J.
On February 11, 2008, the plaintiff-appellants/cross-appellees-petitioners Bang Ja Guajardo (Mrs. Guajardo) and Richard Guajardo (Mr. Guajardo) (collectively, the Guajardos) filed an application for a writ of certiorari, urging this court to review the summary disposition order (SDO) of the Intermediate Court of Appeals (ICA) in Guajardo v. AIG Hawaii Insurance Co., No. 27893 (Hawai'i Ct. App. Oct. 25, 2007). They argue that the ICA gravely erred in concluding (1) that the defendant-appellee/cross-appellant-respondent AIG Hawaii Insurance Company, Inc. (AIG) did not definitely deny the Guajardos' request for consent to their settlement with the third-party tortfeasor, Gary Senaga (Senaga), who injured Mrs. Guajardo, (2) that the first circuit court, the Honorable Bert J. Ayabe presiding, correctly ruled that AIG did not misrepresent the terms of its insurance policy to them in response to their claim for underinsured motorist (UIM) benefits, (3) that, even if AIG misrepresented the terms of the policy, the misrepresentation did not prejudice the Guajardos, (4) that AIG was not subject to a duty to conduct an independent investigation into Senaga's assets, (5) that the circuit court correctly granted summary judgment in favor of AIG, because the ICA misstated the standard of review of summary judgments and because the reasonableness of AIG's handling of the Guajardos' claim remains a genuine issue of material fact, and (6) that the circuit court correctly declined to grant the Guajardos' request to conduct further discovery pursuant to Hawai'i Rules of Civil Procedure (HRCP) Rule 56(f).
We hold that the ICA erred in affirming the circuit court's grant of partial summary judgment in AIG's favor and against the Guajardos with respect to the Guajardos' bad faith claim and in concluding, as a matter of law, that any unreasonable interpretation of the Guajardos' policy by AIG did not prejudice them. Accordingly, we vacate the circuit court's judgment and remand this case to the circuit court for further proceedings consistent with this opinion. [footnote omitted].
Concurring opinion by Acoba, J. [pdf]
