A commentary on insurance coverage issues in Hawaii and beyond
The court denied National Union's motion to dismiss the insured's suit to compel a defense under the umbrella policies. San Diego Unified Port Dist. v. Nat'l Union Fire Ins. Co., 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 88362 (S. D. Cal. July 6, 2016).
National Union sold the insured primary and umbrella policies, promising to defend and…
The insurer unsuccessfully moved for a determination that it had no duty to defend a public adjuster. Singer v. Continental Cas. Co., 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 82286 (E.D. Pa. June 24, 2016).
Plaintiffs in the underlying action alleged that the public adjuster, Brian Singer, negligently performed his duties while assessing and inspecting a claimed loss…
The Court granted the insurer's motion to dismiss because the injury occurred after the policy period had expired. Goins v. C&S Global Imports, Inc., 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 79160 (W.D. Ky. June 17, 2016).
Plaintiff James Goin visited the site of a deer hunt on property owned by Kevin Turn…
The First Circuit Court of Appeals certified questions to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) on whether the insurer's duty to defend required paying for the insured's pursuit of counterclaims. Mount Vernon Fire Ins. Co. v. VisionAid, Inc., 2016 U.S. App. LEXIS 10464 (1st Cir. June 9, 2016).
VisionAid…
The Hawaii federal district court confirmed its prior holdings that there is no duty to defend or indemnify for property damage caused by faulty workmanship. State Farm Fire & Cas Co. v. GP West, Inc., 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 74240 (D. Haw. Jun 7, 2016). (Full disclosure – our office represents GP West in…
The insured's claim that the insurer improperly refused to provide a supersedeas bond was rejected by the federal district court. James River Ins. Co. v. Interlachen Property Owners Ass'n v. Kuepers Constr., 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 71825 (D. Minn. June 1, 2016).
Kuepers Construction, Inc. constructed a townhome project on property owned by the Association.
The Hawaii Supreme Court vacated the decision of the Intermediate Court of Appeals [see prior post here] and determined that a subcontractor did not have a duty to defend the developer upon tender under an indemnify provision in the parties' contract. Arthur v. State of Hawaii, 2016 Haw. LEXIS 155 (June 27, 2016). …
The Ninth Circuit held that the insurers' duty to defend did not cease after the insured submitted its response to the EPA in a section 104 (e) letter. Ash Grove Cement Co. v. Liberty Mut. Ins. Co., 2016 U.S. App. LEXIS 8663 (9th Cir. May 11, 2016).
Ash Grove operated two cement plants…
Considering certified questions from the federal district court, the Arkansas Supreme Court followed a prior decision in deciding there was no coverage for property loss caused by faulty workmanship based solely on breach of contract. Columbia Ins. Group, Inc. v. Cenark Project Mgt. Services, Inc., 2016 Ark. LEXIS 185 (Ark. April 28, 2016).
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The Fourth Circuit affirmed the district court's holding that data breach claims were a covered publication. Travelers Indem. Co. of Am. v. Portal Healthcare Solutions, L.L.C., 2016 U.S. App. LEXIS 6554 (4th Cir. April 11, 2016).
A class-action complaint was filed against Portal Healthcare Solutions alleging that Portal allowed plaintiffs' private medical…
