A commentary on insurance coverage issues in Hawaii and beyond
The issue before the New York Court of Appeals in Fasso v. Independent Health Assoc., No. 21 (N.Y. Feb. 24, 2009) [here] was whether the injured party and the tortfeasor could settle on terms that extinguished the insurer's subrogation rights?
Plaintiff was treated by Dr. Doerr and subsequently developed complications that…
At issue in Monistere v. State Farm Fire and Cas. Co., No. 07-31149 (5th Cir. Feb. 17, 2009) [here] was whether the insured homeowners recovered the appropriate amount under their flood policy for damage caused by Hurricane Katrina in August 2005.
The State Farm policy covered: (1) buildings for the amount …
Whether an "all risk" policy covered a building severely damaged by hidden decay was the issue before the Second Circuit in Dalton v. Harleysville Worcester Mut. Ins. Co., No. 07-3545 (2nd Cir. Feb. 19, 2009).
During the policy period, damage to an interior wall between the insureds' building and the adjacent …
In the latest installment of a coverage class action suit that has bounced between the Eleventh Circuit and the District Court in Florida, the insureds survived a motion for summary judgment. See Mills v. Foremost Ins. Co., Case No. 8:06-CIV-986-T-17-MAP, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 8851 (Jan. 28, 2008).
The insureds held a mobile home…
LexisNexis Insurance Law Center has asked insurance bloggers to post the following notice about nominations for "Insurance Law Persons of the Year."
The LexisNexis Insurance Law Center is now receiving nominations for the Center’s “Insurance Law Persons of the Year” award. The award seeks to identify and recognize people who have been a major …
Under Dairy Road Partners v. Island Ins. Co., 92 Hawai`i 398, 414, 992 P.2d 93, 117 (2000), the Hawai`i Supreme Court determined an insured, but not the insurer, can rely on extrinsic evidence to clarify the underlying allegations and demonstrate the possibility of a claim being covered. The Texas Supreme Court recently departed from this reasoning and held neither the…
Cases decided after the California Supreme Court's decision in Henkel Corp. v. Hartford Accident and Indemn. Co., 62 P.3d 69 (Cal. 2001) seem to universally continue the trend that an assignment of comprehensive liability policies to a successor is invalid where there is a no assignment clause and the insurer's consent was not secured. I have found…
If a Hawai`i resident's second home in Florida suffered hurricane damage and coverage was denied by a Florida based insurer, could the insured sue the insurer in Hawai`i? In re: Garnett v. Citizens Prop. Ins. Corp., No. 1070663, 2009 Ala. LEXIS 30 (Ala. Jan. 30, 2009) suggests the answer is "no."
Ms. Garnett was an Alabama…
If an insurer violates a state's emergency order prohibiting cancellation of a policy for 90 days after repairing a dwelling from hurricane damage, does the insured have a private cause of action to enforce the order? In Sailboat Pointe Condo. Ass'n v. Aspen Specialty Ins. Co., No. 08-621129, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 6781 (S.
The issue in United National Ins. Co. v. Spectrum Worldwide, Inc., No. 07-55833 (9th Cir. Feb. 2, 2009) [here] was whether the policy's "first publication" exclusion applied to an infringement claim.
In December 1997, Sunset hired Spectrum, the insured, to advertise and distribute the "Hollywood 48-Hour Miracle Diet" drink. Two Spectrum executives later…
