A commentary on insurance coverage issues in Hawaii and beyond
The Utah Supreme Court determined the "other insurance" provisions of successive policies were inapplicable and instead adopted the time-on-the-risk method of allocation for defense costs in The Ohio Casualty Ins. Co. v. Unigard Ins. Co., 2012 Utah LEXIS 1 (Utah Jan. 06, 2012).
Ohio Casualty insured Cloud Nine from June 10, 2001 to June 10…
Jeff City Industries was the general contractor for a sewer system improvement project in Branson, Missouri. Bituminous Cas. Corp. v. United HRB Gen. Contractors, Inc., 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 145666 (W.D. Mo. Dec. 19, 2011). Branson sued Jeff City, alleging breach of the construction contract for the project. The claims included improperly bedded…
The Court considered how to allocate defense and indemnity responsibilities among various insurers in The Travelers Indem. Co. v. W.M. Barr & Co., No. 2:08-CV-02649 (D. Tenn. Nov. 28, 2011).
W. M. Barr manufactured a variety of solvents, removers, and other related products. Barr was sued in various lawsuits alleging injury resulting…
The federal district court ultimately stayed a construction defect case, but offered comments on the current status of coverage disputes for such defects in Hawaii. See National Union Fire Ins. Co. of Pittsburgh, Pa. v. Simpson Mfg. Co., 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 128481(D. Haw. Nov. 7, 2011).
National Union filed a complaint for…
Applying Colorado law, the Tenth Circuit found a duty to defend construction defect claims where the faulty workmanship was unintentional. Greystone Const. Inc. v. National Fire & Marine Ins. Co., 661 F.3d 1272 (10th Cir. 2011). A prior post [here] discussed the Tenth Circuit's certified question to the Colorado Supreme Court…
Although the insureds disclosed flooding problems in the basement, the buyers purchased their home. USAA Cas. Ins. Co. v. McInerney, 2011 Ill. App. LEXIS 1130 (Ill Ct. App. Oct. 31, 2011). In a supplemental disclosure, the insureds reported that during heavy rains light seepage occurred in the basement.
After moving in, the…
The insured, Dish Network Corporation, was sued for patent infringement by Ronald A Katz Technology Licensing, L.P. (RAKTL). See Dish Network Corp. v. Arch Specialty Ins. Co., 2011 U.S. App. LEXIS 20955 (10th Cir. Oct. 17, 2011). RAKTL alleged Dish infringed on twenty-three patents. The underlying complaint provided little information about how Dish…
The insured, Georgia-Pacific, sued USF&G for failing to defend in three underlying lawsuits. Georgia-Pacific LLC v. United Stated Fidelity & Guar. Co., 2011 U.S. App. LEXIS 18014 (11th Cir. Aug. 29, 2011). The district court granted USF&G's motion for summary judgment because the policy's Self-Funded Retention Endorsement had not been satisfied.
The…
In yet another recent construction defect case, the Illinois Court of Appeal found for coverage. See Milwaukee Mut. Ins. Co. v. J.P. Larsen, Inc., 2011 Ill. App. Ct. LEXIS 872 (Ill. Ct. App. Aug. 15, 2011).
Weather-Tite, Inc. hired Larson as a subcontractor to apply sealant to windows installed by Weather-Tite in a condominium…
The insurer argued it had no duty to defend the assignee of a policy because it was not a named insured. While the trial court agreed, the Appellate Court of Illinois reversed. Illinois Tool Works, Inc. v. Commerce and Indus. Ins. Co., 2011 Ill. App. LEXIS 881 (Ill. Ct. App. Aug. 16, 2011).…
