A commentary on insurance coverage issues in Hawaii and beyond
The Hawaii Intermediate Court of Appeal agreed that the insured had entered an enforceable settlement with his insurer regarding a coverage dispute. Flowers v. United Services Automobile Assoc., No. 30085, Summary Disposition Order (Haw. Ct. App. May 17, 2013). [Order here].
The insured made a claim under his renter's insurance…
Today, I spoke with the HSBA Litigation section about construction defect coverage in Hawaii and the Group Builders' cases. Thank you to all who attended and participated in the discussion. Here are my power point slides from the presentation.
The Louisiana Court of Appeal affirmed the trial court's finding of liability on the part of the insurer and the agent for their failure to properly procure flood insurance for the insureds. Barnett v. Fid. Nat'l Prop. & Cas. Co., 2013 La. App. LEXIS 856 (La. Ct. App. May 1, 2013).
The…
Robert Thomas, my blogging colleague at Damon Key, has posted about his presentation Monday, May 20, 2013, to the Hawaii State Bar Association's Appellate Section. Robert will be speaking on amicus briefing from 12 to 1 p.m. at the HSBA conference room.
Which reminds me, I will be making a…
Recovery for the cost of stabilizing and then demolishing a building were excluded from coverage by the owned property exclusion. Clarinet, LLC v. Essex Ins. Co., 2013 U.S. App. LEXIS 7922 (8th Cir. April 22, 2013).
In 2005, Clarinet purchased a building in St. Louis which was listed on the National Register…
In the recently completed, 2013 session of the Hawaii Legislature, only a handful of insurance related bills were enacted. Most of the surviving bills sent to the Governor relate to health care reform. We previously posted on pending legislation in the insurance arena here.
Here is a list of bills that survived:…
The Missouri Court of Appeal determined that the all sums approach would be utilized for property damage occurring through several policy periods. Doe Run Res. Corp. v. Certain Underwriters at Lloyd's London, 2013 Mo. App. LEXIS 468 (Mo. Ct. App. April 16, 2013).
The insured, Doe Run, was a mining, milling…
In a long running suit regarding thousands of asbestos bodily injury claims brought against Kaiser Cement and Gypsum Corporation, the California appellate court held that the excess carrier's indemnity obligation did not attach until all collectible primary policies were exhausted. Kaiser Cement and Gypsum Corp. v. Ins. Co. of the State of Pennsylvania…
The Third Circuit followed Pennsylvania law in determining that damage caused by faulty workmanship did not arise from an occurrence. Zurich Am. Ins. Co. v. R. M. Shoemaker Co., 2013 U.S. App. LEXIS 6093 (3d Cir. March 27, 2013).
The County sued R. M. Shoemaker, alleging faulty construction of an addition to…
In an unpublished opinion, the California Court of Appeal determined there was no coverage for damage caused by a leaking pipe, including mold. Brown v. Mid-Century Ins. Co., 2013 Cal App. Unpub. LEXIS 2389 (Cal. Ct. App. April 2, 2013).
In February 2009, the insureds noticed condensation on the windows of their…
