A commentary on insurance coverage issues in Hawaii and beyond
The federal district court granted, in part, the insured's motion for summary judgment seeking coverage for a collapse of a church's ceiling. Derbyshire Baptist Church v. Church Mut. Ins. Co., 2020 U.S. Distl LEXIS 113346 (E.D. Va. June 29, 2020).
A large portion of the sanctuary ceiling of the insured's…
The Michigan Supreme Court held that under a CGL policy, an "accident" may include unintentional subcontractor work that damages the insured's work product. Skanska USA Building Inc. v. M.A.P. Mechanical Contractors, Inc., et al., 2020 Mich. LEXIS 1194 (Mich. June 29, 2020).
Skanska USA Building Inc. was the construction manager…
The court determined that the sinking of the insured's floor caused by termites and rot deterioration did not meet the homeowners policy's definition of collapse. Stewart v. Metro. Lloyds Ins. Co., 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 111527 (S.D. Tex. June 24, 2020).
Beatrice Stewart, the homeowner, heard a loud bang one…
The Iowa Supreme Court reversed the trial court and held that alleged acts of gross negligence may constitute an occurrence. T.H.E. Insurance Co. v. Glen, 2020 Iowa LEXIS 64 (Iowa June 5, 2020).
Stephen Booher was a seasonal employee at Adventureland Amusement Park. He had been recently employed as a loading…
The federal district court, district of Hawaii, stayed the coverage action to allow the underlying state court action to proceed, United States Fire Ins. Co. v. Prieto, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 106676 (D. Haw. June 18, 2020).
In the underlying action, Aerica Cates sued defendant Prieto and the State of…
The California Court of Appeals reversed the trial court's grant of summary judgment to the insurer regarding a claim for fire loss. Mosley v. Pacific Sec. Ins, Co., 2020 Cal. App LEXIS (Cal. Ct. App, May 26, 2020).
The Mosleys rented their property to Pedro Lopez. Six months later, the…
Although there were concurrent state and federal proceedings regarding the insureds' claims for damage caused by Kilauea Volcano, the federal district court refused to dismiss or stay the federal action. Aqulina v Certain Underwriters at Lloyd's Syndicate #2003, 465 F. Supp. 3d 1066 (D. Haw. 2020).
Plaintiffs held homeowner's policies from…
Early decisions are starting to appear where insurers have denied coverage for business interruption after shut downs due to the coronavirus. Most of these early decisions address procedural issues, but a trial court in Michigan recently granted the insurer's motion to dismiss a claim for business interruption due to mandated closures.
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Acknowledging there was not yet a body of case law developed by the state court, the federal district court remanded the claim. Dianoia's Eatery, LLC v. Motorists Mutual Ins. Co., Civil Action No. 20-706 (W.D. Pa. May 19, 2020).
Dianoia's filed a complaint in state court against Motorists Mutual seeking…
