The Texas Supreme Court recently held a liability insurer may indemnify an award of punitive damages imposed because of an insured’s gross negligence. Public policy, the court reasoned, favored freedom of contract. The court, however, limited this decision to the workers’ compensation context.
Of note, the Texas court noted that Hawaii has statutorily adopted the
The plaintiff in Evanoff v. The Standard Fire Ins. Co., 2008 U.S. App. LEXIS 15261 (6th Cir. July 18, 2008) suffered flood damage at his condominium. He had purchased a Standard Flood Insurance Policy from Standard Fire for his condominium and its contents. The terms of the policy were governed by 44
In dual decisions, two motions for partial summary judgment were decided by the federal district court in Louisiana involving State Farm and its insureds. See Perrien v. State Farm Ins. Co., 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 53820 (E.D. La. July 14, 2008); Perrien v. State Farm Ins. Co., 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS
A collection of important Katrina-related opinions and orders can be found at www.mssd.uscourts.gov/insurance.htm. The website features decisions issued by L.T. Judge Senter, Jr., a senior federal district court judge from the Southern District of Mississippi. Judge Senter has been at the center of much of the Katrina insurance litigation, handling a very
Can an insured reform an insurance policy that lists the wrong address for the property intended to be insured? A federal district court in Massachusetts recently answered no, at least in regards to a flood insurance policy. See Tucard, LLC v. Fidelity Nat’l Prop. & Cas. Ins. Co., 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS
The Eighth Circuit recently considered whether State Farm was authorized to deny coverage for fire loss based on the insured’s alleged misrepresentation. See Warren v. State Farm Fire & Casualty Co., No. 07-2010 (8th Cir. July 10, 2008).
The insured’s home was destroyed by a fire in the early
The Hawaii Intermediate Court of Appeals overruled the District Court’s order granting summary judgment to an insured under the insurer’s automobile policy in Tasaki v. AIG Hawaii Ins. Co., 2008 Haw. App. LEXIS 366 (Haw. Ct. App. June 27, 2008).
After injuring his teeth, jaw and head in a motor
The Ninth Circuit recently held in Sony v. American Home Assurance that Sony was not entitled to a defense from two of its carriers. Sony was sued because its PlayStation 2s suffered from an "inherent" or "fundamental" design defect that rendered them unable to play DVDs and certain game discs. Sony had a special $10
Must an ERISA plan reimburse its beneficiaries for the cost of photocopying medical records? Faced with this issue, the Ninth Circuit decided against the beneficiary in Sgro v. Danone Waters of N. Am., Inc., No. 06-55916 (9th Cir. July 2, 2008). The result would presumably be controlling in an ERISA case originating
Just to prove we’ll do anything for our readers, this post is being made from my iPhone. Now we can blog 24/7!