A commentary on insurance coverage issues in Hawaii and beyond
The Supreme Court for West Virginia determined the policy's contractual assumption exclusion barred coverage for the general contractor based upon claims of faulty workmanship. J.A. St & Assocs. v. Bitco Gen. Ins. Corp., 2019 W. Va. LEXIS 205 (May 1, 2019).
J.A. Street & Associates, Inc. entered a contract with…
The court held that claims regarding the negligent supervision of an independent contractor who engaged in the sexual abuse of three victimes amounted to one occurrence, requiring a single deductible. Scott Fetzer Co. v. Zurich Am. Ins. Co., 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 13023 (6th Cir. April 30,2019).
In 2013, three…
In a case related to Great Divide Ins. Co. v. Hawaiian Kamali`i, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 43106 (D. Haw. March 15, 2019) [post here], the Federal District Court for the District of Hawaii confronted issues created by a cross-claim for one of the purported insureds. United States Fire Ins. Co. v. …
Based upon the primary policy's exclusion, the following form excess policy had no duty to indemnify after the insured reached a settlement in the underlying case. Houston Cas. Co. v. Strata Corp., 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 3936 (8th Cir. Feb. 6, 2019).
An employee of Strata fell to his death…
Affirming the district court, the Second Circuit agreed that the excess insurer had a duty to indemnify the insured for sexual abuse claims. Hartford Roman Catholic Diocesan Corp. v. Interstate Fire & Cas. Co., 905 F.3d 84 (2nd Cir. 2018).
The Archdiocese had excess policies from Interstate between September 1…
The Fourth Circuit certified the following question to the South Carolina Supreme Court: Does South Carolina law support application of the "at issue" exception to the attorney-client privilege such that a party may waive the privilege by denying liability in its answer? In Re: Mt. Hawley Ins. Co., 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS…
The court determined there was a duty to defend negligence and private nuisance claims for dumping materials on the plaintiffs' property. Peters Heavy Construction, Inc. v. X-Pert One Tracking Corp., 2018 Wisc. App. LEXIS 358 (Wis. Ct. App. March 29, 2018).
Peters Heavy Construction sued X-Pert One for negligently depositing…
The court found that the insurer was obligated to indemnify, but not to defend the insured. Old Republic Ins. Co. v. Kenny Constr. Co., 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 189412 (N.D. Ill. Oct. 31, 2017).
Kenny Construction Company was hired by the Army Corp of Engineers to work on the Chicago…
The Fifth Circuit construed a contract requiring indemnity and an obligation to provide insurance coverage as creating separate duties. ExxonMobil Corp. v. Elec. Reliability Services, 2017 U.S. App. LEXIS 16031 (5th Cir. Aug. 22, 2017).
Exxon contracted with Electrical Reliability Services (ERS) to perform electrical work and services at Exxon's chemical facility…
The insurer's motion for summary judgment, attempting to bar coverage under two endorsements for a wrongful death suit, was denied. Essex Ins. Co. v. FD Event Co., LLC, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 124400 (C.D. Calif. July 25, 2017).
FD Event owned an amusement attraction known as Free Drop, which was…
