A commentary on insurance coverage issues in Hawaii and beyond
In a brief decision analyzing Oregon law, the Ninth Circuit determined that once an insurer breaches its duty to defend, it must indemnify. See Desrosiers v. Hudson Speciality Ins. Co., 2011 U.S. App. LEXIS 12591 (9th CIr. June 21, 2011).
The victim secured a judgment against the insured after he was beaten…
The insurer sought to avoid coverage for claims against its insured, a supplier of Chinese drywall. The court ruled, however that the exclusions relied upon by the insurer did not bar coverage. See Auto-Owners Ins. Co. v. Am. Building Materials, Inc., 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 52837 (M.D. Fla. May 17, 2011).
The…
After being sued for failure to secure a policy, the insurance agents sought dismissal of the insured's suit on statute of limitations ground. Kelly v. Lodwick, 2011 Fla. App. LEXIS 4810 (Fla. Ct. App. April 6, 2011).
A private school was notified its policy would not be renewed after it lapsed on…
Georgia has joined the growing legion of high state courts to find that faulty workmanship can arise from an occurrence, invoking coverage for a contractor. See Am. Empire Surplus Lines Ins. Co. v. Hathaway Dev. Co., Inc., 2011 Ga. LEXIS 177 (Ga. March 7, 2011).
Hathaway Development Co., a general contractor, sued…
Whether coverage existed for property damage occurring after the subcontract finished its work on the project was the issue presented in United Fire & Cas. Co. v. Boulder Plaza Residential, LLC, 2011 U.S. App. LEXIS 1694 (Jan. 27, 2011).
Boulder Plaza Residential, LLC ("BPR"), a real estate developer, and McCrery & Roberts Construction…
In October, we reported here that the Intermediate Court of Appeals affirmed the cancellation of a policy based on the insured's misrepresentation of the type of vehicle being insured. The Hawaii Supreme Court recently affirmed the ICA's decision. See Farmer v. Pacific Speciality Ins. Co., 2011 Haw. LEXIS 28 (Haw. Feb. 7, 2011).
Farmer…
Whether the insurer was obligated to indemnify its insured for potential liability under a contractual indemnity provision was at issue in Farmers Ins. Exchange v. RNK, Inc., 2011 U.S. App. LEXIS 1255 (1st Cir. Jan. 21, 2011).
RNK, a telephone company, and Ripple, a company providing conference services including chat lines, entered…
Following recent Fifth Circuit precedent, the federal district court ruled that the assignment made after the loss without the insurers consent was invalid. See Nautilus Ins. Co. v. Concierge Care Nursing Centers, Inc., 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 136842 (S. D. Tex. Dec 28, 2010).
In 1999, Brae Burn Construction Company Inc. entered into…
The Archdiocese sought coverage under its CGL policy for allegations of sexual abuse committed by its former priests. Because the underlying complaints alleged volitional acts rather than accidental occurrences, the court determined there was no coverage. See Doe v. Archdiocese of Milwaukee, 2010 WISC. App. LEXIS 954 (Wis. Ct. App. Nov. 23, 2010).…
A thoughtful opinion concerning the allocation of indemnity obligations between an insurance company and a policyholder was rendered in Peabody Essex Museum, Inc. v. United States Fire Ins. Co., 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 106275 (D. Mass. Sept. 30, 2010).
At some point over the last several decades, an oil tank on the…
