Baumann v. Sedgwick Claims Management Services Inc‪.‬

The plaintiff Ronald Baumann is an owner of Baumann & Sons Buses, Inc., and affiliated bus companies. In the early 1990s, the Baumann Self-Insurance Trust (hereinafter "the Trust") was established to provide workers compensation benefits for Baumann employees. Beginning in 1993, the defendant Sedgwick Claims Management Services, Inc. (hereinafter "Sedgwick"), provided claims administration services to the Trust for a flat fee of $15,000 annually, which was eventually raised to $30,000 annually. In 1997, the plaintiff Ronald Baumann approached Sedgwick about the filing of loss-transfer claims. Loss-transfer claims are claims for reimbursement asserted against third-parties who are determined to be liable for causing or contributing to accidents or injuries that result in workers compensation benefits being paid by the Trust. It is undisputed that Sedgwick undertook the filing of loss transfer claims on behalf of the Trust for claims that arose after July 15, 1994. However, according to the defendants, Sedgwick only did so in anticipation of reaching a final, written agreement with the plaintiffs on the loss-transfer claims, among other things. Sedgwick submitted several proposals to the plaintiffs, all of which were rejected. Ronald Baumann refused to sign a contract with Sedgwick because he was dissatisfied with Sedgwicks performance. On February 1, 2000, not having obtained a signed contract from the plaintiffs, Sedgwick advised them that it would be unable to process any new claims after December 30, 1999.