A commentary on insurance coverage issues in Hawaii and beyond
Is an insurer exposed to bad faith if it relies upon its own mistake to withhold payment under the policy? The court answered yes in Lundy Enterprises, LLC v. Wausau Underwriters Ins. Co., No. 06-3509, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 121295 (E.D. La. Dec. 30, 2009).
Wausau provided commercial property coverage for the insured's…
Defendants were sued in an underlying state court action. See Riverport Ins. Co. v. Oakland Cmty. Housing, Inc., No. C 08-3883, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 104472 (N.D. Cal. Nov. 6, 2009). Defendants were additional insureds under a policy issued by Riverport. In its coverage action for declaratory judgment, Riverport secured an order awarding summary judgment that determined there…
The insured Condominium Association had primary and excess coverage. See El-Ad Residences at Miramar Condo. Assoc. v. Mt. Hawley Ins. Co., 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 92216 (S.D. Fla. Sept. 24, 2009). Significant property damage was caused by Hurricane Wilma. The insured alleged that three years after the hurricane, the insurers failed to adjust…
Whether the insured was acting within the course and scope of his employment contract was at issue when the Eighth Circuit Circuit reversed the District Court's determination of no workers' compensation coverage in Merriam v. National Union Fire Ins. Co. of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, No. 08-3547, 2009 U.S. App. LEXIS 15698 (8th Cir. July 17, 2009).
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…
