A commentary on insurance coverage issues in Hawaii and beyond
Punitive damages that were reduced by the trial court to $1 million fro $4 million were affirmed by the appellate court. Mazik v. Geico Gen. Ins. Co., 2019 Cal. App LEXIS 454 (Cal. Ct. App. May 17, 2019).
Mazik was injured in a serious auto accident. He was diagnosed with…
The partial collapse of an exterior brick veneer of an apartment building was found not to be covered under the apartment policy. Keyser v. State Farm Fire & Cas. Co., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 81194 (W.D. Pa. May 14, 2019).
Norene Keyser was insured by State Farm for a six-unit…
The federal district court granted in part, denied in part, the insurer's motion to dismiss a claim for computer fraud submitted under the insurer's crime protection policy. Childrens Place, Inc. v. Great Am. Ins. Co., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 70109 (D. N. J. April 25, 2019).
On July 24, 2017…
The Ninth Circuit reversed the district court's issuance of summary judgment regarding coverage for damages when the insured's plant had to be shut down due to an accident. Ingenco Holdings, LLC v. Ace American Ins. Co., 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 10946 (9th Cir. April 15, 2019).
Ingenco operated a gas…
The federal district court found there was no coverage under the commercial property policy for loss suffered by the insured condominium association due to a sink hole. Bahama Bay II Condo. Ass'n. v. Untied Nat'l Ins. Co., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 67487 (M.D. Fla. April 11, 2019).
The plaintiff condominium…
The insured sued for conversion of his premiums after the insurer denied its claim for collapse of a retaining wall. Lead GHR Enterprises, Inc. v. Am States Ins. Co., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 29412 (D. S. D. Feb. 25, 2019).
Suit was filed after the insured's claim was denied. Cross…
Cross-motions for summary judgment designed to determine coverage for the Church’s collapse claim were both denied. Bethel Missionary Baptist Church v. S. Must. Church Ins. Co., 2019 U. S. Dist. LEXIS 24705 (W. D. N. C. Feb. 15, 2019).
The Church sought summary judgment on its claim for bad faith, arguing that…
The policy's requirement that collapse constitute an abrupt falling down of the building barred coverage for the homeowner. Marigliani v. Citizens Ins. Co. of Am., 2019 Conn. Super. LEXIS 137 (Conn Super. Ct. Feb. 1, 2019).
The plaintiffs' hoe was built in 1985 and they purchased it in 2001. A…
The Supreme Court of Iowa agreed the city had no coverage for damage to its property after a squirrel triggered an electrical arc. City of W. Liberty v. Employers Mut. Cas. Co., 2019 Iowa Sup. LEXIS 6 (Feb. 1, 2019).
A squirrel climbed on to an electrical transformer at West…
The appellate court overturned the trial court's dismissal of the insured's complaint seeking consequential damages. D.K. Prop. Inc. v. Nat'l Union Fire Ins. Co. of Pittsburgh v, Pa., 2019 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 329 (N.Y. App. Div. Jan. 17, 2019).
The insured's building began to shift and exhibit structural damage…
