A commentary on insurance coverage issues in Hawaii and beyond
While the appellate court affirmed dismissal of a majority of the claims submitted by the Los Angeles Lakers for closure of the Staples Center due to COVID-19, a portion off their claim survived. L.A. Lakers v. Fed. Ins. Co., 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 51563 (C.D. Calif. March 17, 2022).
Government…
The court determined the insurer had no duty to defend construction defect claims asserted against the insured. Pa. Nat'l Mut. Cas. Ins. Co. v. River City Roofing, 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 38226 (E.D. Va. March 3, 2022).
Branch Builds, Inc, was the general contractor for Shock Valley View Genesis, LLC…
The court found that the insured's negligent acts causing damage to only the structure of the home it built were not covered under the CGL policy. Westfield Ins. Co. v. Zaremba Builders II LLC, 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 36189 (N.D. Ill. March 2, 2022).
Zaremba contracted to build a house…
Responding to certified questions from the Fifth Circuit, the Texas Supreme Court held that in limited circumstances, extrinsic evidence may be considered in determining the duty to defend. Monroe Guar. Ins. Co. v. Bitco Gen. Ins. Corp., 2022 Tex. LEXIS 148 (Tex. Feb. 11, 2022).
The two insurers each provided…
The court determined that the insurer improperly denied a defense for construction defect claims made against the insured. Amerisure Mut. Ins. Co. v. McMillin Tex. Homes, 2022 U.S. Dist. LEIS 40363 (W.D. Texas March 8, 2022).
McMillin was a developer, general contractor and home seller. It constructed multiple homes in…
The court denied the insurer's motion to compel seeking communications between the insured, its attorney and the insured's broker. M&C Holdings Del. P'ship v. Great Am. Ins. Co., 2021 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 186358 (S.D. Ohio Sept. 29, 2021).
The insured's employee siphoned off commission payments to fictitious recipients. Great American…
After being ordered by the trial court to produce its underwriting manual, the insurer's writ of certiorari to quash the order was denied by the Florida Court of Appeals. People's Trust Ins. Co. v. Foster, 2022 Fla. App. LEXIS 542 (Fla. Ct. App. Jan. 26, 2022).
The insured sued after…
While the insured's faulty work constituted an occurrence under Florida law, a prior occurrence exclusion barred coverage. Pro-Tech Caulking & Waterproofing v. TIG Ins. Co., 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12319 (S.D. Fla. Jan. 19, 2022).
Pro-Tech was a waterproofing subcontractor for construction of a oceanfront condominium building and was responsible…
In a dispute between two insurers, the Ninth Circuit relied upon Nevada law in finding that the burden of proving that an exception to the exclusion applies was on the insured. Zurich Am. Ins. Co. v. Ironshore Specialty Ins. Co., 2022 U.S. App. LEXIS 1626 (9th Cir. Jan. 20, 2022).
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Reversing the lower court, the Delaware Supreme Court found there was not duty to defend a supplier of opioids when the counties pursuing the underlying litigation only sought economic losses. Ace Am. Ins. Co. v. Rite Aid Corp., 2022 Del. LEXIS 9 (Del. Jan. 10, 2022).
Two Ohio counties sued Rite Aid to recover…
