A commentary on insurance coverage issues in Hawaii and beyond
If a Hawai`i resident's second home in Florida suffered hurricane damage and coverage was denied by a Florida based insurer, could the insured sue the insurer in Hawai`i? In re: Garnett v. Citizens Prop. Ins. Corp., No. 1070663, 2009 Ala. LEXIS 30 (Ala. Jan. 30, 2009) suggests the answer is "no."
Ms. Garnett was an Alabama…
If an insurer violates a state's emergency order prohibiting cancellation of a policy for 90 days after repairing a dwelling from hurricane damage, does the insured have a private cause of action to enforce the order? In Sailboat Pointe Condo. Ass'n v. Aspen Specialty Ins. Co., No. 08-621129, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 6781 (S.
In a recent post, we discussed Dickerson v. Lexington Ins. Co., 2008 U.S. App. LEXIS 26504 (5th Cir. Dec. 22, 2008) where the Fifth Circuit determined damages for mental anguish were properly granted based on the insurer's bad faith delay in paying a claim after Hurricane Katrina. Dickerson controlled a subsequent decision by…
If a policy's deductible does not apply to "ensuing loss or damage," is indirect business interruption an ensuing loss? The court in RTG Furniture Corp. v. Industrial Risk Insurers, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 85237 (S. D. Fla. Oct. 9, 2008) faced this issue, noting it was a question of first impression nationwide.
The…
In Southern Surgery Center, LLC v. Fidelity and Guaranty Ins. Co., 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 79971 (S. D. Miss., Oct. 8, 2008), United States Fidelity and Guaranty Company ("USF&G") insured a building owned by Southern Development Resources, LLC ("SDR"). A different insurer, Fidelity and Guaranty Insurance Company, insured two other companies related…
If an insurer pays for repairs to a building based on the insured’s preliminary estimate of damage, does the insured have further obligations to pay for property damage? This was one of the issues in Chateau Argonne Condominium Assoc. v. State Farm Ins. Co., 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 70917 (E.D. La. Sept.
In Laeroc Waikiki Parkside, LLC v. Westchester Fire Ins. Co., 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 65711 (D. Haw. Aug. 22, 2008), the Federal District Court of Hawaii determined the insured’s claim for coverage was time-barred under the policy’s two-year limitation period.
The insured purchased a hotel on August 24, 2001. It…
In St. Paul Mercury Ins. Co. v. The Viking Corp., No. 07-1948 (7th Cir. Aug. 21, 2008), the insurer paid for damages to the insured’s building and then filed suit against a fire sprinkler manufacturer. The insured occupied its building for six months when a fire sprinkler manufactured by Viking was activated…
When an insurer pursues a subrogation claim, can the defendant rely on the insureds’ factually deficient discovery responses in a motion for summary judgment? The court in Great American Ins. Co. v. Gordon Trucking, Inc., F053336 (Cal. Ct. App. July 29, 2008) held the defendant could not rely on the insureds’ factually…
Imagine an case involving a policy’s anti-concurrent causation clause which (1) does not arise from a Gulf State; and (2) does not concern the flood/wind dichotomy. A recent case fits this criteria: Colorado Intergovernmental Risk Sharing Agency v. Northfield Ins. Co., 2008 Colo. App. LEXIS 1165 (Colo. Ct. App. July 24, 2008).
