Plaintiff's home was damaged by Hurricane Katrina on August 29, 2005. See Bridges v. EMC Mortgage Corp., 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 18433 (S.D. Miss. March 2, 2010). She filed suit against her insurer, Liberty Mutual. In her amended complaint, the plaintiff added her mortgage company, EMC, as a defendant, alleging EMC failed to
March 2010
Arbitration Award Confirmed Even After Insurer Pays Award
By Tred R. Eyerly on
On its third trip to the Hawai`i appellate courts, the decision in Mikelson v. United Services Automobile Assoc., No. 28332 (Haw. Ct. App. March 24, 2010)(opinion here) addressed whether the Circuit Court's confirmation of the arbitration award was appropriate when the insurer had already paid the arbitration award. (Disclosure – our…
Summary Judgment Improperly Granted for Insured’s Hurricane-Related Property Loss and Business Interruption Claims
By Tred R. Eyerly on
The insured, Versai, managed apartments that were so extensively damaged by Hurricane Katrina that they were uninhabitable. See Versai Mg. Corp. v. Clarendon Am Ins. Co., No. 08-30874, 2010 U.S. App. LEXIS 3479 (5th Cir. Feb. 19, 2010). Versai notified its insurers and submitted claims with the assistance of its private adjusters and…
Subcontrator’s Construction Defect Is An Occurrence
By Tred R. Eyerly on
Coverage under a CGL policy for the subcontractor's construction defects was at issue in Architex Assoc., Inc. v. Scottsdale Ins. Co., No. 2008-CA-01353-SCT, 2010 Miss. LEXIS 71 (Miss. Feb. 11, 2010). Although the lower court determined there was no occurrence under the policy, and thus no coverage, the Supreme Court reversed.
Architex…
Additional Insured Not Entitled to Defense Where No Allegations of Insured’s Wrongdoing
By Tred R. Eyerly on
The additional insured contractor was not entitled to a defense where the underlying case failed to allege any negligence by insured subcontractor. See Clarendon Nat. Ins. Co. v. Am. States Ins. Co., No. 09-548-JO, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16091 (D. Ore. Feb. 22, 2010).
Providence built houses and subcontracted with Woodmaster to…
“Your Work” Exclusion Only Applies to Insured’s Portion of Project
By Tred R. Eyerly on
The "your work" exclusion was held inapplicable to damaged portions of a building for which the insured was not responsible. Fortney & Weygandt, Inc. v. Am. Manufacturers Mutual Ins. Co., No 05-4031, 2010 U.S. App. LEXIS 2836 (6th Cir. Feb. 12, 2010).
The insured contracted with Frisch's Restaurants, Inc. to build a Golden Corral…
Conference Outline on Triggers in Property Policies
By Tred R. Eyerly on
The ABA’s Section of Litigation, Insurance Coverage Litigation Committee’s annual conference was held in Tucson last week. Rina Carmel and I led a lively discussion on applicable triggers for property policies. Although the manifestation of an injury has been used by some courts to trigger a property policy, the injury-in-fact trigger has more recently been adopted by other courts. The outline for our presentation is here.
Policy Restricts Additional Insured from Satisfying SIR
By Tred R. Eyerly on
If the named insured does not satisfy the self-insured retention (SIR), can the additional insured undertake payment to trigger coverage? Looking at the language of the policies under consideration, the court answered no in Forecast Homes, Inc. v. Steadfast Ins. Co., No. G040876, 2010 Cal. App. LEXIS 172 (Cal. Ct. App. Jan. 12…
Damage Caused by Snow Melt Excluded
By Tred R. Eyerly on
Is damage caused by snow melt excluded under a homeowner's policy because it constitutes standing water? The court answered yes in Northwest Bedding Co. v. Nat. Fire Ins. Co. of Hartford, No. 28044-6, 2010 Wash. App. LEXIS 299 (Wa. Ct. App. Feb. 11, 2010).
The Spokane area, where the insured's buildings were located, experienced…
Mold Remediation Excluded Based on Anti-Concurrent Causation Clause
By Tred R. Eyerly on
In Builders' Mutual Ins. Co. v. Glascarr Prop., Inc., No. COA09-486, 2010 N.C. App. LEXIS 186, (N.C. Ct. App. Feb. 2, 2010), the court found no coverage for loss caused by mold because of the anti-concurrent causation clause. Whether reliance on the anti-concurrent causation clause was correct is difficult to determine from the facts…