A commentary on insurance coverage issues in Hawaii and beyond
In a recommended decision, a United States magistrate determined the insurer was entitled to attorney fees under Hawaii’s assumpsit statute, Haw. Rev. Stat. 607-14. See Deguchi v. Allstate Ins. Co., 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 73072 (D. Haw. Sept. 23, 2008).
A prior post discussed the facts of Deguchi. Briefly…
The simple issue in Mohnkern v. The Professional Ins. Co. was: does a Florida statute automatically award attorneys’ fees upon a successful outcome by the beneficiary/insured? Or does the statute require the insurer to have wrongfully caused the insured/beneficiary to resort to litigation before attorneys’ fees can be awarded?
The Florida…
Practitioners have noticed, and have been puzzled by, a schism in the Supreme Court of Hawai`i’s rulings on attorneys’ fees in bad faith actions. At least one case held that a bad faith action was in the nature of assumpsit and, thus, awarded fees to the insurer from the insured. Six months later, another case…
A quiet debate on whether an insurer is entitled to an award of attorneys’ fees in coverage actions is closer to resolution. The argument generally focuses on what statute is applicable: Haw. Rev. Stat. § 607-14 (1993) (which mandates fees to be paid by the losing party in assumpsit actions) or Haw. Rev.
A quiet debate on whether an insurer is entitled to an award of attorneys’ fees in coverage actions is closer to resolution. The argument generally focuses on what statute is applicable: Haw. Rev. Stat. § 607-14 (1993) (which mandates fees to be paid by the losing party in assumpsit actions) or Haw.
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