A commentary on insurance coverage issues in Hawaii and beyond
Disputed evidence on whether the property damage was caused by wind or flood related to Hurricane Katrina was at issue in C.R. Pittman Constr. Co., Inc. v. Nat'l Fire Ins. Co. of Hartford, 2011 U.S. App. LEXIS 20002 (5th Cir. Sept. 30, 2011).
Pittman Construction had equipment for pumping units stored both inside and…
Our prior post reported on the Fifth Circuit's certified question to the Louisiana Supreme Court regarding anti-assignment provisions in policies assigned to the State. Louisiana distributed funds from the "Road Home" program to Louisiana homeowners to repair uninsured and under-insured property damaged by hurricanes. Before funds were issued, the homeowners had to sign a…
KITV reported last week that the Keehi Marine Center, owner of a boat harbor in Honolulu, and its insurer, Travelers, are denying claims for boats moored at the harbor and damaged during the March 11, 2011 tsunami. Liability is being denied because damage to the boats "occurred as a result of the tsunami, an…
Failing to understand the relationship between himself, his mortgage company, and his insurer, the plaintiff was left without coverage for damage caused by Hurricane Katrina. Dace v. Novastar Mortgage Inc., 2011 La. App. Unpub. LEXIS 233 (La. Ct. App. April 13, 2011).
Novastar held the mortgage on the plaintiff's property in New Orleans. There were…
Lost business opportunities after Hurricane Katrina hit was the issue before the court in Safeguard Storage, Properties, L.L.C. v. Donahue Favret Contractors, Inc., 2011 La. App. LEXIS 391 (La. Ct. App. March 31, 2011).
Safeguard planned to develop a minimum of twelve to fifteen new self-storage locations each year for several years. Market…
The Fifth Circuit considered whether the second-layer excess policy incorporated the anti-concurrent causation clause and water exclusion from the primary policy. See ARM Properties Management Group v. RSUI Indemn. Co., 2010 U.S. App. LEXIS 23174 (5th Cir. Nov. 5, 2010).
ARM purchased property insurance for hundreds of apartment complexes. By grouping separate…
When the insureds purchased their home along the Mississippi Gulf coast, they discussed obtaining property insurance with Richard Schmidt, a Nationwide insurance salesman employed by Felsher Insurance Agency. See Mladineo v. Schmidt, 2010 Miss. LEXIS 569 (Miss. Oct. 28, 2010). The insureds' complaint alleged they told Schmidt they desired a policy with full…
A prior post [here] discussed the Fifth Circuit's grappling with the proper measurement for covering loss of a home due to Hurricane Katrina. On rehearing, the Fifth Circuit altered its prior determination that the policy's loss provision was ambiguous. See Bradley v. Allstate Ins. Co., 2010 U.S. App. LEXIS 19476 (5th Cir. Sept.
The insured had a commercial property policy with Lexington. Coverage included $25 million in losses for business interruption. See Consolidated Co. Inc. v. Lexington Ins. Co., 2010 U.S. App. LEXIS 17146 (5th Cir. Aug. 17, 2010).
Hurricane Katrina damaged the insured's property and equipment. The insured was able, however, to resume partial operations ten days…
When both a covered risk and a non-covered risk cause some of the property damage, which party bears the burden of identifying the discrete items of property that were damaged and proving what portion of the damage was caused by a non-covered or excluded risk? See Bayle v. Allstate Ins. Co., 2010 U.S.
