A commentary on insurance coverage issues in Hawaii and beyond
The California Court of Appeals held that a carrier who breaches the duty to defend may be liable for consequential damages above policy limits. Carlson v. Century Surety Co., 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 23119 (N.D. Cal. Feb. 23, 2012).
The underlying plaintiffs listed their home for sale with Prudential California Realty. Plaintiffs…
The Connecticut Supreme Court determined that the insured's homeowner's policy did not cover liability for injury to her house guests caused by a car left running overnight in the attached garage. See New London County Mut. Ins. Co. v. Nantes, 2012 Conn. LEXIS 62 (Conn. Feb. 21, 2012).
The insured had two…
Here is an article I authored in this month’s Hawaii Bar Journal entitled, “The Battle Over Coverage For Construction Defects.” The premise of the article is that while the Intermediate Court of Appeals held in Group Builders, Inc. v. Admiral Ins.Co.,123 Haw. 142, 213 P.3d 67 (Haw. Ct. App. 2010) that construction defects do…
Whether an appraisal award could be confirmed as an arbitration award considered by the Florida Court of Appeal in State Farm Florida Ins. Co. v. Gonzalez, 76 So. 3d 34 (Fla. Ct. App. 2011).
The insureds' home was damaged by a hurricane in 2005. State Farm acknowledged there was a covered loss, but…
Although it was an additional insured under the tenant's commercial general liability policy, the landlord was not entitled to a defense for injury arising out of property other than the leased property. See VBH Luxury, Inc. v. 940 Madison Assoc. LLC, 2012 N.Y. LEXIS 217 (N.Y. Feb. 14, 2012).
The landlord was an additional insured…
The court agreed with the insurer that the litigation should be abated during the appraisal for damage caused by Hurricane Ike. See United Neurology, P.A. v. Hartford Lloyd's Ins. Co., 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15675 (Feb. 8, 2012).
Harford invoked the appraisal process, which was required under the policy if the parties failed…
The shopping mall owner, Bender Square Partners, sought to recover from the insurer for losses resulting from Hurricane Ike to property it had leased to PNS Stores, Inc. Bender Square Partners v. Factory Mut. Ins. Co., 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 8095 (S.D. Texas Jan. 24, 2012). It turned out Bender was not an…
Charles and Valerie Myers hired Perry Miller to build their home. Myers v. United Ohio Ins. Co., 2012 Ohio App. LEXIS 287 (Ohio Ct. App. Jan. 26, 2012). After completion of the home, Miller was again hired to construct an addition which included a full basement, staircases, bathroom, bedroom, hallway and garage.
After the…
In a brief decision, the federal district court denied the insurer's motion for summary judgment on the insured's bad faith claims. Gulf Prod. Co. Inc. v. Hoover Oilfield Supply, Inc., 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3390 (E.D. La. Jan. 11, 2012).
The insured was sued for a defective flowline that allegedly splayed when pressure tested below…
Through the efforts of Mihoko Ito, Esq. and Gary Slovin, Esq., the Hawaii State Bar Association is tracking variouscategories of legislation during the current session. Based upon Mihoko and Gary's efforts, below is a summary of the insurance related bills the legislature is considering.
HB 1688– The bill increases the…
