Arness

MEMORANDUM **

The district court did not err in granting summary judgment on Plaintiffs’ claims for bad faith and punitive damages in connection with the denial of Plaintiffs’ 1995 insurance claim. In light of Plaintiffs’ own admissions as to when they first became aware of damage to their home following the Northridge earthquake, the district court correctly determined that Plaintiffs could not show that Allstate acted unreasonably or without proper cause, see Chateau Chamberay Homeowners Ass’n v. Associated Int’l Ins. Co., 90 Cal.App.4th 335 , 108 Cal.Rptr.2d 776, 784 (Ct.App.2001), or that Allstate acted with “oppression, fraud, or malice,” Cal. Civ.Code § 3294.

Because the district court did not rule on Plaintiffs’ motion to amend their complaint to allege events occurring after the revival of their claim in 2000, we are unable to determine whether and to what extent the district court also intended to adjudicate Allstate’s entitlement to summary judgment on Plaintiffs’ claims for bad faith and punitive damages arising from those events. Under these circumstances, ordinarily we would remand to the district court for further proceedings. However, at oral argument the parties…