A commentary on insurance coverage issues in Hawaii and beyond
The court found an anti-assignment provision enforceable, thereby denying coverage for the assignee. Dameron Hospital Assoc. v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Ins. Co., 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 146577 (E.D. Cal. Oct 20, 2012).
Dameron Hospital provided emergency medial treatment to three individuals who were in automobile accidents and had coverage through State…
When the additional insured argued it was entitled to coverage for loss to its cars due to a rain storm, the court disagreed because the endorsement only provided for third party coverage. BMW of N. Am. v. Complete Auto Recon Servs., 2012 S.C. App. LEXIS 218 (S.C. Ct. App. Aug. 1, 2012).
BMW had…
In a sad fact situation, the property owner had no coverage when sued for the death of one child and serious injury to another who were playing on his property. Allstate Ins. Co. v. Naai, No. 10-15415 (9th Cir. July 24, 2012).
A driver backed her vehicle over two children on property…
My Damon Key blogging colleague, Rebecca Copeland at www.Recordonappeal.com., reports here that the Hawaii Supreme Court accepted certiorari in Willis v.Swain, First Insurance Company of Hawaii, Ltd., No. SCWC-29539. Our post on the Hawaii Intermediate Court decision is here. The case involves whether the insurance company owes a duty of good faith in…
The Ninth Circuit determined that under California law, the insurer's failure to attempt to reach a settlement after it was reasonably clear that the insured's liability would exceed policy limits breached the covenant of good faith and fair dealing. Du v. Allstate Ins. Co., 2012 U.S. App. LEXIS 11755 (June 11, 2012 9th Cir.)…
Following the jurisprudence set forth by the Hawaii Supreme Court, the Intermediate Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court's rejection of the insured's claim for bad faith. Stewart v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Co., 2012 Haw. Ct. App. LEXIS 148 (Haw. Ct. App. Feb. 10, 2012).
The ICA agreed with the insured that the trial…
Shilo Willis was injured when the uninsured car in which she was a passenger was struck by another vehicle. Willis v. Swain, 2012 Haw. Ct. App. LEXIS 131 (Haw. Ct. App. Feb. 3, 2012). Willis was enrolled under a "certificate policy" which was provided under Hawaii's Joint Underwriting Plan (JUP) to drivers receiving public…
In Wilson v. AIG, 89 Haw. 45, 968 P.2d 647 (1998), the Hawaii Supreme Court held that an insured was not the real party in interest when challenging its auto insurer's refusal to pay benefits to the insured's medical provider. Relying on legislation post-dating its prior decision, the Court overruled Wilson in an unanimous decision authored by Justice…
We previously posted here and here on decisions by the Hawaii Intermediate Court of Appeal in Ahn v. Liberty Mutual Fire Ins. Co. and Kim v. Liberty Mutual Fire Ins. Co. As you recall, the issue in the two cases was whether the insured could seek administrative review when the insurer denied coverage or was the…
We reported here that the Hawaii Supreme Court granted certiorari in Kim v. Liberty Mutual Fire Ins. Co. The Supreme Court has now granted certioari in a companion case, Ahn v. Liberty Mutual Fire Ins. Co.
As in Kim, the issue in Ahn is whether Haw. Rev. Stat. 431:10C-308.5(e) overruled…
