A commentary on insurance coverage issues in Hawaii and beyond
In McCoy v. Progressive West Ins. Co., B199978 (Cal. Ct. App. Feb. 26, 2009) [here], the appellate court upheld the jury's verdict finding bad faith arising from Progressive's denial of the insured's vehicle theft claim.
In March 2004, the insured's Ford Mustang was stolen in Las Vegas. When recovered, the Mustang, …
The First Circuit recently determined the efficient proximate cause doctrine would not apply under Maine law. See First Specialty Ins. Corp. v. Am. Home Assurance Co., 2009 U.S. App. LEXIS 3943 (Feb. 27, 2009 1st Cir.).
The insured was hired to deliver a construction barge on the Merrimack River using a tug. …
The outline on transfer of liability policies to a successor created by Rina Carmel and me for our round table presentation last week at the ABA Section of Litigation, Insurance Coverage Litigation Committee in Tucson, is here. Materials from the plenary and breakout sessions are available at the ABA Section of Litigation website
The issue before the New York Court of Appeals in Fasso v. Independent Health Assoc., No. 21 (N.Y. Feb. 24, 2009) [here] was whether the injured party and the tortfeasor could settle on terms that extinguished the insurer's subrogation rights?
Plaintiff was treated by Dr. Doerr and subsequently developed complications that…
At issue in Monistere v. State Farm Fire and Cas. Co., No. 07-31149 (5th Cir. Feb. 17, 2009) [here] was whether the insured homeowners recovered the appropriate amount under their flood policy for damage caused by Hurricane Katrina in August 2005.
The State Farm policy covered: (1) buildings for the amount …
Whether an "all risk" policy covered a building severely damaged by hidden decay was the issue before the Second Circuit in Dalton v. Harleysville Worcester Mut. Ins. Co., No. 07-3545 (2nd Cir. Feb. 19, 2009).
During the policy period, damage to an interior wall between the insureds' building and the adjacent …
In the latest installment of a coverage class action suit that has bounced between the Eleventh Circuit and the District Court in Florida, the insureds survived a motion for summary judgment. See Mills v. Foremost Ins. Co., Case No. 8:06-CIV-986-T-17-MAP, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 8851 (Jan. 28, 2008).
The insureds held a mobile home…
LexisNexis Insurance Law Center has asked insurance bloggers to post the following notice about nominations for "Insurance Law Persons of the Year."
The LexisNexis Insurance Law Center is now receiving nominations for the Center’s “Insurance Law Persons of the Year” award. The award seeks to identify and recognize people who have been a major …
Under Dairy Road Partners v. Island Ins. Co., 92 Hawai`i 398, 414, 992 P.2d 93, 117 (2000), the Hawai`i Supreme Court determined an insured, but not the insurer, can rely on extrinsic evidence to clarify the underlying allegations and demonstrate the possibility of a claim being covered. The Texas Supreme Court recently departed from this reasoning and held neither the…
Cases decided after the California Supreme Court's decision in Henkel Corp. v. Hartford Accident and Indemn. Co., 62 P.3d 69 (Cal. 2001) seem to universally continue the trend that an assignment of comprehensive liability policies to a successor is invalid where there is a no assignment clause and the insurer's consent was not secured. I have found…
