A commentary on insurance coverage issues in Hawaii and beyond
Uninsured-motorist coverage after the insured died in an auto accident was the issue in Estate of Anderson v. Safeco Ins. Co. of Illinois, No. 08-3452 (8th Cir. May 29, 2009) [here].
Anderson was riding in a car driven by his ex-wife when flood water swept the car off a driveway. Anderson died after being…
The ABA’s Section of Litigation, Insurance Coverage Litigation Committee’s website has been building a collection of insurance related articles, labeled “Hot Topics.” Many informative and timely articles appear at the site. See my article, “Breadth of the Flood Exclusion: A Flood is a Flood, Including Storm Surge,” posted on the site [Article] which discusses the…
Here is a report in today's Insurance Journal regarding oral argument conducted last Tuesday before the Mississippi Supreme Court in Corban v. United Services Automobile Assoc., No. 2008-M-645 (Miss.) At issue is the application of the anti-concurrent causation clause where the insured's home was allegedly damaged by both wind and flood. We have previously discussed the Corban…
In our last post [here] we discussed a decision from the Oklahoma Supreme Court recognizing a bad faith claim against a workers' compensation insurer. My Damon Key colleague and fellow blogger, Mark Murakami (hawaiioceanlaw.com), informed me of a similar case winding its way through the trial court on Kauai. See Ordonez v. Hawaii Employers Mutual Ins. …
In Summers v. Zurich Am. Ins. Co., No. 105617 (Okla. May 26, 2009) [here], the Oklahoma Supreme Court addressed confusion under state law in a establishing a bad faith claim against a workers' compensation carrier.
Ms. Summers was injured in March 2004 while employed at Walmart. She was an insured under a workers' compensation policy…
My Damon Key colleagues and fellow bloggers, Robert Thomas (inversecondemnation.com) and Mark Murakami (hawaiioceanlaw.com), quickly posted on their respective blogs Judge Sotomayor's decisions on maritime law (Mark's post here) and inverse condemnation (Robert's post here). So . . . , where is the insurance blog's input?
In an effort to keep pace (actually…
When the insured, Matkin, an architectural firm, was sued by GEWAC, Inc., shopping center owner, for improper drainage in a parking lot designed by Matkin, Everest, the insurer, refused to defend, contending Matkin had not given timely notice under the claims-made policy. Matkin-Hoover Engineering, Inc. v. Everest National Ins. Co., No. 08-CV-0451, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 44057 (W.D.
The insured's property was damaged during Hurricane Katrina by wind, wind driven rain, flooding, storm surge and water in Jupiter v. Automobile Club Inter-Insurance Exchange, No. 07-1689, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 44083 May 26, 2009). Plaintiff recovered $225,500 from Allstate, its flood insurance carrier. The insured also held a homeowner's policy with Automobile Club…
The Ninth Circuit recently affirmed the district court's decision granting reimbursement and prejudgment interest on amounts paid to the insured for defense and settlement pursuant to a reservation of rights. See Evanston Ins. Co. v. OEA, Inc., No. 07-15316 (9th Cir. May 21, 2009)[here].
OEA acquired a claims-made policy from Evanston Insurance Company in 1998. The…
Whether coverage for an allogeneic stem-cell transplant ("allo-transplant") was properly denied by the insurer was at issue in Hawaii Medical Service Association v. Adams, No. 28899 (Haw. Ct. App. May 21, 2009) [here]. An allo-transplant, used to treat myeloma, involves the harvesting and transplanting of stem cells from a matched donor. "Myeloma" is…
