A mixed result for the insured and excess insurers was reached in Six Flags Inc. v. Westchester Surplus Lines Ins. Co., No. 08-30476, 2009 U.S. App. LEXIS 8273 (5th Cir. April 21, 2009)[here]. Although the Fifth Circuit determined most insurers had no further coverage obligation, the flood exclusion in one excess policy
Business Risk Exclusions Not Applicable For Damage To Building Caused By Installation of Carpet
By Tred R. Eyerly on
Exclusions (k) and (m) in comprehensive general liability policies were the focus of a recent decision from the First Circuit. See Essex Ins. Co. v. BloomSouth Flooring Corp., No. 06-2750, 2009 U.S. App. LEXIS 7896 (1st Cir. April 16, 2009) [here].
Boston Financial Data Services (BFDS) hired Suffolk Construction Corporation as general …
Ninth Circuit Certifies Question on Severability of Interests
By Tred R. Eyerly on
The Ninth Circuit has certified a question to the California Supreme Court regarding a policy's severability-of-interests clause. See Minkler v. Safeco Ins. Co., No. 07-56689 (9th Cir. April 8, 2009) [here].
Minkler sued Betty Schwartz and her son, David, who allegedly molested Minkler over a period of years while serving as Minkler's…
Post-Loss Assignment Upheld By Another Louisiana Federal Court
By Tred R. Eyerly on
Consistent with the recent decision issued in In Re Katrina Canal Breaches Consolidated Litigation [prior post here], the District Court for the Western District of Louisiana upheld a post-loss assignment of a property policy. See Disaster Relief Serv. of North Carolina, LLC v. Employers Mutual Cas. Ins. Co., No. 07-1925, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS…
No Duty to Defend Excavation Damage Under Contractor-Subcontractor Exclusion
By Tred R. Eyerly on
In Nautilus Ins. Co. v. 1452 N. Milwaukee Avenue, LLC, No. 07-3147 (7th Cir. April 7, 2009) [here], the Seventh Circuit found there was no duty to defend a land owner causing property damage based on the contractor-subcontractor exclusion.
When excavating its property and demolishing a building thereon, 1452 LLC damaged a neighboring…
Gavelston Revisited – Seven Months After Hurricane Ike
By Tred R. Eyerly on
My wife and I were in Houston again last week. Over the weekend, we drove to Galveston, continuing a chain of visits from both before and after Hurricane Ike. [See prior posts here and here]. The Gulf Coast was in the Houston news last week because of former President George H.W. Bush's Saturday visit to Gilchrist on the Bolivar…
Anti-Assignment Clause Does Not Bar Post-Loss Assignment
By Tred R. Eyerly on
It's now late April. Posting on a decision rendered in March, early March at that, breaches a blogger's protocol. And In Re: Katrina Canal Breaches Consolidated Litigation; Pertains to: Road Home, Louisiana State, No. 05-4182, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 30406 (E.D. La. March 5, 2009), received press when issued. The case allowed individual claims…
Hurricane Damage Not Covered under Alaska Native Corporation’s All Risk Policy
By Tred R. Eyerly on
I can't resist reading a decision regarding a dispute over hurricane coverage for property owned by an Alaska Native Corporation. See Arctic Slope Regional Corp. v. Affiliated FM Ins. Co., No. 08-30050, 2009 U.S. App. LEXIS 6900 (5th Cir. April 2, 2009). The Arctic Slope Regional Corporation, one of the few lucrative Native Corporations formed under the…
Insurer Must Pay UIM Benefits Based on Policy Holder’s Joint and Several Liability
By Tred R. Eyerly on
The Hawai`i Intermediate Court of Appeals' (ICA) decision in Liberty Mut. Ins. Co. v. Sentinel Ins. Co., Ltd., No. 27429, 2009 Haw. App. LEXIS 134 (Haw. Ct. App. March 31, 2009) is unpublished and the facts are detailed, but it's a Hawaii insurance-related decision. So we submit the following.
Ms. Labrador, the insured, sustained…
Doctrine of Efficient Proximate Cause Helps Insured Avoid Summary Judgment
By Tred R. Eyerly on
It's an unpublished decision and not certified for publication. Nevertheless, the analysis of the interplay between the anti-concurrent causation clause and the efficient proximate cause doctrine described in Rouland v. Pacific Specialty Ins. Co., G040299, 2009 Cal. App. Unpub. LEXIS 2589 (Cal. Ct. App. March 30, 2009) warrants attention.
The insured's home suffered damage…