Washington Federal Court Finds that the IFCA Applies Prospectively
The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington has held, in response to a Motion to Amend, that the newly passed Insurance Fair Conduct Act is to be applied prospectively rather than retroactively from its effective date. Recognizing that whether a law applies retroactively is a question of legislative intent, the court found that the Washington Legislature did not express an intent for the IFCA to apply retroactively and further, that the statute was couched in present and future tenses. Additionally, the court determined that the IFCA is not remedial as it concerns more than “procedure or forms of remedies” as it creates a new cause of action for a claimant “who is unreasonably denied a claim for coverage or payment of benefits.” The case, HSS Enterprises, LLC v. AMCO Insurance Co. (Case No. C06-1485-JPD), is currently pending before the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington at Seattle.
