Bemis v. State Farm Fire & Casualty Co. (Illinois)

A chiropractor and his practice group brought a putative class action against our client, State Farm, for breach of contract and unjust enrichment arising from the insurer’s alleged operation a “silent PPO.” The plaintiffs had previously brought a class action against a different insurer based on the same theory. That class action was dismissed for failure to state a claim. The legal issue in this case was whether the judgment in the previous action collaterally estopped the current action. The intermediate appellate court held that it did, rejecting plaintiffs’ arguments that supposed errors in the opinion affirming the previous dismissal could prevent operation of collateral estoppel. Plaintiffs’ petition for review was denied by the Illinois Supreme Court.