Chatterton v. Walker

In Chatterton v. Walker, 938 P.2d 255 (Utah 1997), an insured presented a claim for breach of the express terms of an insurance contract, but made no allegations of bad faith. Id. at 263. However, in pursuing the breach of express contract claim, the insured "propounded extensive discovery that he . . . conceded was primarily directed at exploring the possibility of pursuing a bad faith claim." Id. The Court held that the discovery was irrelevant to the insured's breach of express contract claim and was thus inappropriate where it was sought only to explore the possibility of filing a bad faith claim. Id. at 263-64.