A commentary on insurance coverage issues in Hawaii and beyond
In Cecilia Schwaber Trust Two v. Hartford Accident and Indemn. Co., No. JFM-06-0956, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 59788 (D. Md. July 14, 2009), Hartford unsuccessfully moved to dispose of the insured's claim for failure to act in good faith.
Hartford's policy covered the insured's warehouse for the period March 1, 2002…
Bad faith and coverage for looting were at issue in Spears v. State Farm Ins. Co., No. 08-3183, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 49554 (E. D. La. June 12, 2009). The insureds' home was damaged by Hurricane Katrina on August 29, 2005. A homeowner's policy issued by State Farm provided coverage of up to $179,700 for dwelling and up…
In our last post [here] we discussed a decision from the Oklahoma Supreme Court recognizing a bad faith claim against a workers' compensation insurer. My Damon Key colleague and fellow blogger, Mark Murakami (hawaiioceanlaw.com), informed me of a similar case winding its way through the trial court on Kauai. See Ordonez v. Hawaii Employers Mutual Ins. …
In Summers v. Zurich Am. Ins. Co., No. 105617 (Okla. May 26, 2009) [here], the Oklahoma Supreme Court addressed confusion under state law in a establishing a bad faith claim against a workers' compensation carrier.
Ms. Summers was injured in March 2004 while employed at Walmart. She was an insured under a workers' compensation policy…
The insured's property was damaged during Hurricane Katrina by wind, wind driven rain, flooding, storm surge and water in Jupiter v. Automobile Club Inter-Insurance Exchange, No. 07-1689, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 44083 May 26, 2009). Plaintiff recovered $225,500 from Allstate, its flood insurance carrier. The insured also held a homeowner's policy with Automobile Club…
Consistent with the recent decision issued in In Re Katrina Canal Breaches Consolidated Litigation [prior post here], the District Court for the Western District of Louisiana upheld a post-loss assignment of a property policy. See Disaster Relief Serv. of North Carolina, LLC v. Employers Mutual Cas. Ins. Co., No. 07-1925, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS…
The insured moved for summary judgment on bad faith because of the insurer's alleged delayed and incomplete payments after Hurricane Katrina destroyed property. See Plaquemines Parish School Bd v. Indus. Risk Insurers, No. 06-7213, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 20004 (E.D. La. March 11, 2009).
School buildings operated by the insured …
In McCoy v. Progressive West Ins. Co., B199978 (Cal. Ct. App. Feb. 26, 2009) [here], the appellate court upheld the jury's verdict finding bad faith arising from Progressive's denial of the insured's vehicle theft claim.
In March 2004, the insured's Ford Mustang was stolen in Las Vegas. When recovered, the Mustang, …
In a recent post, we discussed Dickerson v. Lexington Ins. Co., 2008 U.S. App. LEXIS 26504 (5th Cir. Dec. 22, 2008) where the Fifth Circuit determined damages for mental anguish were properly granted based on the insurer's bad faith delay in paying a claim after Hurricane Katrina. Dickerson controlled a subsequent decision by…
The California Court of Appeal upheld a bad faith ruling based on the insurer's delay in paying benefits. See Major v. Western Home Ins. Co., 2009 Cal. App. LEXIS 4 (Cal. Ct. App. Jan. 6, 2009).
The insureds' home was destroyed by a wild fire in October 2003. They held a homeowners policy from…
