A commentary on insurance coverage issues in Hawaii and beyond
After the leased commercial building was destroyed by a tornado, a dispute arose over inadequate coverage under a policy that the tenant was obligated to provide. Fort Worth Partners, LLC v. Nilfisk, Inc., 2025 U.S. App. LEXIS 27000 (8th Cir. Oct. 17, 2025).
Nilfisk leased a warehouse building from Fort Worth Partners under the terms…
The Colorado Court of Appeal reversed, in part, the trial court's dismissal of the insured's COVID-19 claim. Spectrum Retirement Communities, LLC, et al v. Continental Casualty Company, 2025 Colo. App. LEXIS 876 (Colo. Ct. App. June 18, 2025).
Spectrum owned and operated forty-three senior living and memory care communities in…
After vandals caused extensive water damage to the insured's building, the claim for resulting loss was rejected by the federal district court. Epperson v. Lexington Ins. Co., 2025 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 102028 (S.D. Ohio May 29, 2025).
The insured's borrower defaulted on a loan for purchase of a 78,000 square…
Faced with a motion for judgment on the pleadings filed by several of its insurers, the insured was successful in arguing that the Loss of Attraction endorsement in one insurer's policy allowed the insured to pursue losses suffered by its businesses due to COVID-19. BBX Capital Corp. v. Scottsdale Ins. Co., et …
Departing from the multitude of decisions that have determined there is no coverage for losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the North Carolina Supreme Court found that various bars and restaurants that were closed during the pandemic under government orders stated a claim for coverage when suing their insurers. North State Deli, LLC, …
The insurers' motion to dismiss a COVID-19 claim was denied based upon an endorsement for business interruption claims. Mandarin Oriental, Inc. v. HDI Global Ins. Co., 2024 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 169836 (S.D N.Y. Sept. 19, 2024).
Mandarin owned hotels in, among other cities, Miami, New York, Washington, D.C. and Boston.
The California Supreme Court held that the policy's suit limitation of one year, consistent with the statute requiring suit be file within twelve months after a loss, did not apply to claims alleging violation of the state's unfair competition law (UCL). Rosenberg-Wohl v. State Farm Fire and Cas. Co., 2024 Cal. LEXIS…
Construing the policy language, the federal district court found that the policy's additional insured was the loss payee for damage caused by Hurricanes Laura and Delta. TCP Ryan St. LLC v. Weschester Surplus Lines Ins. Co., 2024 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 125529 (W.D. La. July 16, 2024).
Hurricanes Laura and Delta…
The Washington Supreme Court found there was coverage for resulting loss despite the original faulty contraction, an exclusion in the policy. Gardens Condominium v. Farmers Ins. Exchange, 544 P.3d 499 (Wash. 2024).
Farmers issued a policy to Gardens Condominium providing coverage for loss or damage caused by a "Covered Cause…
The court rejected the insurers argument that a cyber attack initiated by the Russia Federation precluded coverage under the policies' hostile/warlike action exclusion. Merck & Co. v. Ace Am. Ins. Co., 2021 N.J. Super. LEXIS 43 (N.J. Super. Ct. Law Div. May 1, 2023).
Merck held all-risk policies issued by…
