Eastern Steel Constr v. Int. Fidelity Ins Co ( 2023 )

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF PENNSYLVANIA
MIDDLE DISTRICT
EASTERN STEEL CONSTRUCTORS, INC., : No. 574 MAL 2022
:
Respondent :
: Petition for Allowance of Appeal
: from the Order of the Superior Court
v. :
:
:
INTERNATIONAL FIDELITY INSURANCE :
COMPANY, :
:
Petitioner :
EASTERN STEEL CONSTRUCTORS, INC., : No. 609 MAL 2022
:
Cross-Petitioner :
v. :
:
: Petition for Allowance of Appeal
INTERNATIONAL FIDELITY INSURANCE : from the Order of the Superior Court
COMPANY, :
:
:
:
Respondent : :
ORDER
PER CURIAM
AND NOW, this 7th day of November, 2023, the application to strike at 574 MAL
2022 is DENIED, and the Petition for Allowance of Appeal at 574 MAL 2022 is GRANTED,
LIMITED to the issues set forth below. Allocatur is DENIED as to all remaining issues.
The issues, as stated by Petitioner, are:
(1) Whether a surety is liable for attorneys’ fees and/or
contractual interest under the terms of a payment bond that
covers only labor, materials and equipment?
(2) Whether a surety is bound by a default judgment entered
in an arbitration to which the surety was not a party and
despite a provision in the bond specifying that litigation
against the surety will proceed in a court of law?
The Cross-Petition for Allowance of Appeal at 609 MAL 2022 is GRANTED, LIMITED TO
the issue set forth below. Allocatur is DENIED as to all remaining issues. The issue, as
stated by Cross-Petitioner, but edited for clarity, is:
Whether Pennsylvania’s insurance bad faith statute, 42
Pa.C.S. § 8371, applies to surety contracts/policies issued by
insurance companies?
[609 MAL 2022] - 2