A commentary on insurance coverage issues in Hawaii and beyond
The federal district court found that the D&O carrier had a duty to defend despite the insurer's argument that its policy was excess to the employment practices policy. TriPacific Capital Advisors, LLC v. Federal Ins. Co., 2021 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 222497 (D. Calif. Nov. 15, 2021).
Geoffrey Fearns was President…
The court granted summary judgment to the school district, finding the insured was entitled to a defense against sexual abuse claims alleged against its employee. West Bend Mut. Ins. Co. v. Cmty. Unit Sch. Dist. 300, 2021 Ill. App LEXIS 622 (Ill. App. Ct. Nov. 12, 2021).
The School District rented space to the…
The insurer was unsuccessful in seeking to dismiss business interruption claims due to COVID-19 under a pollution policy. New York Botanical Garden v. Allied World Assur., 2021 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 6012 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. Oct.15, 2021).
The insured was forced to cease operations after executive orders by the governor and…
While a district court can decline to exercise jurisdiction over a declaratory judgment action, here the declaratory claims were joined with an independent monetary claim. The insured filed a counterclaim for monetary relief, but only if the court first exercised jurisdiction over the insurer's claim for declaratory judgment. Could the district court still decline jurisdiction?
The California Court of Appeal affirmed the trial court's dismissal of the insured's business interruption claim based upon COVID-19 government shutdown orders. The Inns by the Sea v. California Mut. Ins. Co., 2021 Cal. App. LEXIS 956 (Calif. Ct. App. Nov. 15, 2021). The Inns is the first state appellate court decision…
The court denied the insurer's motion for summary judgment on admittedly late notice because prejudice to the insured remained an issue of fact. Guzman v. Scottsdale Ins. Co., 2021 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 219625 (S.D. Fla. Nov. 15, 2021).
The insured first noticed water leaking into his kitchen from the roof during Hurricane…
Insurance Law Hawaii is fourteen years old this month. We began posting in December 2007, 1551 posts ago.
We strive to keep readers abreast of new developments in insurance-related cases from Hawaii and across the country. Coverage issues in the past year have again been dominated by COVID-19 and business interruption claims. This…
The Kentucky Supreme Court reversed the court of appeals' affirmance of the trial court's denial of bad faith claims. Nichols v. Zurich Am. Ins. Co., 630 S.W. 3d 683 (Ky. 2021).
Miller Pipeline Corporation had a commercial fleet policy with Zurich. The policy provided UIM coverage of $1,000,000.
…
