A commentary on insurance coverage issues in Hawaii and beyond
The Texas Supreme Court recently held that an insurer may have a duty to indemnify even if the duty to defend never arises. See D.R. Horton-Texas, Ltd. v. Markel Int'l Ins. Co, Ltd., No. 06-1018, 2009 Tex. LEXIS 1042 (Tex. Dec. 11, 2009).
The homeowners purchased their house from D.R. Horton. After moving…
Allegations in the underlying complaint proved crucial in analyzing coverage for an additional insured under Texas' eight-corners rule. See The Burlington N. and Santa Fe R. R. Co. v. National Union Fire Ins. Co. of Pittsburgh, Pa., No. 08-06-00022CV, 2009 Tex. App. LEXIS 9347 (Tex. Ct. App. Dec. 9, 2009).
The railroad entered…
Is there a duty to defend under a claims made policy when the insurer has notice of alleged malpractice before the policy period, but the insured is not sued until the policy period actually commences? In what appears to be a harsh result, the Tenth Circuit determined the notice and filing of suit were a single act. …
In Dyncorp v. Certain Underwriters at Lloyd's , London, No. 08C-09-218, 2009 Del. Super. LEXIS 412 (Del. Super. Ct. Nov. 9, 2009), the court considered whether a duty to defend arose in several underlying suits for damage caused by aerial spraying over Colombia.
Pursuant to a contract with the United States government…
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…
So much for the zealous representation of an insurer's denial of the duty to defend. This post at abajournal.com reports when the trial court rejected the insurer's argument it had no duty to defend, an appeal was filed before the Georgia appellate court. The appellate court found the appeal frivolous and sanctions of $2500…
A default judgment against the insured should not deprive the injured party from pursuing the coverage litigation according to the Ninth Circuit's decision in Westchester Fire Ins. Co. v. Northwest Airlines, Inc., No. 07-17383, 2009 U.S. App. LEXIS 23718 (9th Cir. Oct. 28, 2009).
The insured provided maintenance services for Northwest Airlines at…
In Kreger v. General Steel Corp, No. 07-575, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 88074 (E.D. La. Sept. 23, 2009), the federal district court in Louisiana was placed in a difficult position of predicting whether a Colorado Supreme Court would find a duty to defend a claim for emotional distress.
In the underlying suit, plaintiff sought…
Whether the federal court has jurisdiction over a coverage dispute of a purported maritime policy was the issue in New Hampshire Ins. Co. v. Home Savings and Loan Co. of Youngstown, Ohio, No. 08-3902, 2009 U.S. App. LEXIS 21133 (6th Cir. Sept. 24, 2009).
National Marine, a yacht dealer and marina operator, purchased…
The subsidence and "your work" exclusions were before the court in Wilshire Ins. Co. v. RJT Construction, LLC, No. 08-50925, 2009 U.S. App. LEXIS 19409 (5th Cir. Aug. 26, 2009).
Wilshire insured RJT under two consecutive CGL policies from June 2004 to June 2006. In 1999, RJT repaired the foundation of the home after…
