Courts have broad discretion to bifurcate claims pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 42(b). In a recent case, the defendant requested that the District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma bifurcate plaintiff's breach of contract claim from the bad faith claim. The defendant claimed the bifurcation would conserve judicial resources and avoid prejudice to the defendant. The plaintiff did not object to the request.
Nevertheless, in a written opinion, the Court denied the request to bifurcate. The Court noted that it frequently conducts trials involving such claims and that, absent extraordinary circumstances, the Court does not bifurcate contract claims from bad faith claims during the liability/compensatory damages phase. And, the Court found no compelling reason to diverge from its general policy. The Court noted that it would bifurcate the liability/compensatory damages phase from the punitive damages phase, if necessary.
It should be noted that, in the state court system, the trial court (absent unusual circumstances) has no authority to bifurcate the contract claim from the bad faith claim. One Court has noted in an opinion that such "theories are connected and . . . should not be bifurcated." It appears that a state trial court has no discretion in this regard. "[T]he issue of whether the insureds had a legal right to recover from the uninsured motorist was not separable from the question of whether the insurer had a good-faith belief that it had a justifiable reason for withholding payment under the policy." See Newport v. USAA, 2000 OK 59, ¶ 26, 11 P.3d 190, 198
