Paslay

In the underlying action, appellants Clayton D. (Clayton) and Traute I. (Traute) Paslay (collectively Paslay) asserted claims for breach of insurance contract, bad faith, and elder abuse against respondent State Farm General Insurance Company (State Farm), and requested an award of punitive damages. The trial court granted summary adjudication in State Farm’s favor on each claim and on the request for punitive damages. We conclude there are triable issues of fact regarding the claim for breach of insurance contract, but none regarding the other claims and the request for punitive damages. In the published portion of the opinion, we conclude that the bad faith claim fails under the genuine dispute doctrine, and that the evidence supporting the application of that doctrine precludes the existence of triable issues regarding the elder abuse claim. We therefore reverse the judgment solely with respect to the Paslays’ claim for breach of insurance contract, affirm the trial court’s remaining rulings, and remand the matter for further proceedings.

RELEVANT FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

The following facts are not in dispute: In December 2010, the Paslays’ house in Pacihc…