When Defendant Wins the Statute of Limitations Starts to Run
Post 4894
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Dr. Gerald Dworkin sued Liberty Mutual and various subsidiaries for wrongful use of civil proceedings arising out of a previous lawsuit accusing Dworkin of insurance fraud. Defendants moved to dismiss on the grounds that Dworkin's suit was barred by the statute of limitations.
In Gerald Dworkin, D.O. v. Liberty Mutual Holding Company, Inc., et al, Civil Action No. 24-1590, United States District Court, E.D. Pennsylvania (September 18, 2024) the USDC resolved the issue.
FACTS
Dworkin was sued in 2017 by Liberty Mutual for alleged insurance fraud. The Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas granted summary judgment in Dworkin's favor, and Liberty Mutual appealed to the Pennsylvania Superior Court, which affirmed in a November 29, 2021 unpublished opinion. The Superior Court reissued its decision as a published opinion on February 1, 2022. On March 22, 2022, the Superior Court remanded the record to the Common Pleas Court. Dworkin filed his initial complaint in this case on March 20, 2024 two days less than two years after the remand order and more than two years after the published opinion.
THE MOTION
A court may only dismiss a claim under Rule 12(b)(6) based on the statute of limitations when the basis for the limitations defense is evident from the complaint itself or other materials the court may consider, which include exhibits attached to the complaint and matters of public record.
THE STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS
The statute of limitations for a claim of wrongful use of civil proceedings is two years. A claim's limitations period generally begins to run as soon as it accrues; that is, as soon as the right to institute and maintain a suit arises. A plaintiff's right to institute and maintain a suit for wrongful use of civil proceedings generally arises when underlying proceedings have terminated in his favor.
The underlying proceedings terminate for the purposes of a wrongful-use claim when the defendant in the underlying proceedings successfully defeats the plaintiff's attempts to have him held legally liable. The defendant successfully defeats the plaintiff when judgment for the defendant becomes final, which generally happens when the judgment has been upheld by the highest appellate court having jurisdiction over the case or the judgment has not been appealed.
Dworkin contended his claim accrued when the Superior Court remanded the record to the trial court on March 22, 2022. That was incorrect. The grant of summary judgment was by law subject to revision during the pendency of the claims against co-defendants and was therefore not a final judgment until, at the earliest, the date on which the plaintiff in the underlying proceedings agreed to settle and release all defendants.
Dworkin's claim accrued at the expiration of Liberty Mutual's time to appeal the Superior Court's ruling because that is the point at which he successfully defeated Liberty Mutual's attempts to have him held legally liable, more than two years before the filing of Dworkin's suit.
ZALMA OPINION
The statute of limitations exists to protect defendants against stale claims which are difficult to defend because facts and witnesses become stale. Dworkin beat Liberty Mutual's suit claiming he committed fraud. If he wished to obtain damages from Liberty he should have sued as soon as he could rather than waiting more than two years and claiming that his account only accrued when at the ministerial act rather than than on the day the final judgment was entered at the time of the appeal affirming the judgment.
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Formulaic Recitation Of The Elements Of Civil Conspiracy Are Insufficient
Post number 5320
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In Hassan Fayad v. Liberty Mutual Insurance Company, et al., No. 2:25-cv-10930, United States District Court, E.D. Michigan, Southern Division (March 24, 2026) Plaintiff Hassan Fayad, the owner of several businesses providing transportation, diagnostics, testing, and therapy services, regularly billed insurance companies for these services, was arrested and tried for fraud, convicted, had the conviction overruled and sued the insurers and prosecutors he found responsible.
FACTUAL BACKGROUND
By January 2020, Liberty Mutual, Progressive, Allstate, and Esurance suspected fraudulent activity and filed a complaint with the Michigan Department of Attorney General (MDAG). The insurers alleged that Fayad and others billed Michigan auto insurance policies for profit without actually providing medically ...
Federal Courts Have Limited Jurisdiction
When all Parties Refuse Removal There is No Jurisdiction
Post number 5319
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In Beth Mayhew and Matthew Mayhew v. Vladimir Sadovyh, et al., No. 2:26-CV-04029-WJE, United States District Court, W.D. Missouri (April 6, 2026) Mayhew was involved in a trailer-truck accident with Vladimir Sadovyh, who was employed by Nova First, LLC and Globex Transport, Inc. Both companies owned the tractor-trailer involved.
FACTUAL BACKGROUND
Chubb and Mohave Transportation Insurance Company jointly issued an insurance policy covering Nova First, Globex, and Sadovyh, with EMA Risk Services acting as a third-party administrator.
Beth Mayhew sued Nova First, Globex, and Sadovyh for negligence in Missouri state court, and following a jury trial, a nuclear judgment was awarded to the Mayhews totaling ...
Ordinary Negligence is What Medical Professi0nal Liability Insures
Post number 5319
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Sexual Conduct Exclusion Doesn’t Apply When Doctor Negligently Uses His Own Sperm
In Integris Insurance Company v. Narendra B. Tohan, No. AC 47222, Court of Appeals of Connecticut (April 7, 2026) Integris Insurance Company, a medical professional liability insurer, initiated a declaratory action to determine its duty to defend and indemnify Narendra B. Tohan, a physician licensed in Connecticut, in a separate negligence action alleging medical misconduct.
FACTUAL BACKGROUND
In 2019, Kayla Suprynowicz and Reilly Flaherty (civil action plaintiffs), who were strangers for most of their lives, discovered through a genetic testing company that they are half siblings.
INSURANCE POLICY
The policy defines “Professional Services” in relevant part as “any professional medical services within the ...
ZIFL – Volume 30, Issue 7 – April 1, 2026
THE SOURCE FOR THE INSURANCE FRAUD PROFESSIONAL
Post number 5314
Posted on April 1, 2026 by Barry Zalma
Zalma’s Insurance Fraud Letter (ZIFL) continues its 30th year of publication dedicated to those involved in reducing the effect of insurance fraud. ZIFL is published 24 times a year by ClaimSchool and is written by Barry Zalma. It is provided FREE to anyone who visits the site at http://zalma.com/zalmas-insurance-fraud-letter-2/ This issue contains the following articles about insurance fraud:
No One is Above the Law – Not Even a Police Officer
Police Officer Convicted for Fraud in Reporting an Accident Affirmed
Police Officer Should never Lie about Results of Chase
In State Of Ohio v. Anthony Holmes, No. 115123, 2026-Ohio-736, Court of Appeals of Ohio, Eighth District, Cuyahoga (March 5, 2026) a police officer appealed criminal conviction as a result of lies about a high speed chase.
Read the following article and the full issue of ZIFL at https://zalma.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/ZIFL-04-01-2026-1.pdf...
ZIFL – Volume 30, Issue 7 – April 1, 2026
THE SOURCE FOR THE INSURANCE FRAUD PROFESSIONAL
Post number 5314
Posted on April 1, 2026 by Barry Zalma
Zalma’s Insurance Fraud Letter (ZIFL) continues its 30th year of publication dedicated to those involved in reducing the effect of insurance fraud. ZIFL is published 24 times a year by ClaimSchool and is written by Barry Zalma. It is provided FREE to anyone who visits the site at http://zalma.com/zalmas-insurance-fraud-letter-2/ This issue contains the following articles about insurance fraud:
No One is Above the Law – Not Even a Police Officer
Police Officer Convicted for Fraud in Reporting an Accident Affirmed
Police Officer Should never Lie about Results of Chase
In State Of Ohio v. Anthony Holmes, No. 115123, 2026-Ohio-736, Court of Appeals of Ohio, Eighth District, Cuyahoga (March 5, 2026) a police officer appealed criminal conviction as a result of lies about a high speed chase.
Read the following article and the full issue of ZIFL at https://zalma.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/ZIFL-04-01-2026-1.pdf...
Posted on March 30, 2026 by Barry Zalma
Insurance Fraud, a Way to Reduce Violent Crime
Post number 5313
A Fictionalized True Crime Story of Insurance Fraud from an Expert who explains why Insurance Fraud is a “Heads I Win, Tails You Lose” situation for Insurers. The story helps to Understand How Insurance Fraud in America is Costing Everyone who Buys Insurance Thousands of Dollars Every year and Why Insurance Fraud is Safer and More Profitable for the Perpetrators than any Other Crime.
She Taught Her Customers The Swoop And Squat:
Recently the California Insurance Department’s Fraud Division arrested a young woman in Los Angeles County for operating an insurance fraud school. She advertised her classes in the “Penny Saver” an advertising sheet distributed free to the public and a print version of Facebook, X Craig’s list. She had operated for several years teaching methods of committing automobile insurance fraud. Only after a police officer enrolled in one of her classes was she arrested.
Her defense ...
