In February, 2006, Federal District Court Judge Helen Gillmor granted the insurer’s Motion for Partial Summary Judgment, determining there was no duty to defend.  Scottdale Ins. Co. v. Sullivan Properties, Inc., 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11582 (D. Haw., Feb. 27, 2006).   The decision invited Scottsdale move for reimbursement of defense costs.

    

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Practitioners have noticed, and have been puzzled by, a schism in the Supreme Court of Hawai`i’s rulings on attorneys’ fees in bad faith actions.  At least one case held that a bad faith action was in the nature of assumpsit and, thus, awarded fees to the insurer from the insured.  Six months later, another case…

     In Garcia v. Federal Ins. Co., Case No. SC06-2524 (Fla., Oct. 25, 2007), the Florida Supreme Court recently analyzed certified questions from the Eleventh Circuit regarding coverage for an additional insured under a homeowner’s policy.  The issue was whether the policy’s coverage of the additional insured was limited to vicarious liability for

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     Last week, we reported Congress was considering extending the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act of 2002, set to expire on December 31, 2007.   Today, the House approved a bill 303-116 to extend the Act and expand coverage despite the threat of a presidential veto.  While the Senate bill merely extends the existing program for …

     Given the heavy rain and 60-mile an hour winds that descended on Hawaii this past week, a recently issued report on climate change by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development seems particularly timely.

     The study seeks to help policy makers determine where to focus adaptation strategies to climate extremes and

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    A quiet debate on whether an insurer is entitled to an award of attorneys’ fees in coverage actions is closer to resolution.  The argument generally focuses on what statute is applicable: Haw. Rev. Stat. § 607-14 (1993) (which mandates fees to be paid by the losing party in assumpsit actions) or Haw. Rev.

        A quiet debate on whether an insurer is entitled to an award of attorneys’ fees in coverage actions is closer to resolution.  The argument generally focuses on what statute is applicable: Haw. Rev. Stat. § 607-14 (1993) (which mandates fees to be paid by the losing party in assumpsit actions) or Haw.

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     The California Supreme Court decided a bad faith case last week. See Wilson v. 21st Century Ins. Co., No. S 141790 (Cal. Sup. Ct. Nov. 29, 2007).  In Wilson, eight months after the plaintiff policy holder was injured, the insurer rejected her demand for payment of the $100,000 policy limit on her

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        No case has stirred the construction and insurance coverage community in Hawaii quite like Burlington Ins. Co. v. Oceanic Design & Constr., Inc.   Together with the economic loss doctrine, this case, if followed in state courts, could signal the death knell for insurer participation in many construction defect cases and have…