Daratony

MEMORANDUM

Plaintiff Richard Daratony (Daratony) appeals the district court’s denial of his motion to amend his complaint to assert a claim for insurance bad faith against defendants (CNA). CNA separately appeals the district court’s denial of its motion for attorney’s fees. For the reasons set forth, we affirm each denial.

The parties are familiar with the facts and the proceedings, and we refer to them only insofar as necessary to resolve the issues presented for appeal. At the center of this case is a lump-sum settlement in response to a threatened class action that terminated CNA’s responsibilities and Daratony’s rights under a disability insurance policy that Daratony had purchased from CNA. The policy itself did not explicitly provide for a lump-sum settlement. As part of the settlement, Daratony’s counsel reviewed, and Daratony himself signed, a broad general release which provides in pertinent part:

Under the belief that CNA had valued the lump-sum settlement using a life-expectancy that differed from what CNA had agreed to use, Daratony filed a claim for fraud, alleging that CNA undervalued the lump-sum settlement. CNA moved for summary judgment on the fraud claim,…