The Washington Supreme Court found that a title insurer breached its duty to defend when it was discovered that a Native American tribe had rights to access the land under a treaty with the State of Washington. Robbins v. Mason County Title Insurance Co., 2020 Wash. LEXIS 288 (Wash. May 7, 2020).
Georgia’s Cause Theory Means One Occurrence in Multi-Car Accident
By Tred R. Eyerly on
The Eleventh Circuit, following Georgia law, found the cause theory meant there was a single occurrence in a multi-car accident. Grange Mut. Cas. Co. v Slaughter, 2020 U.S. App LEXIS 14057 (11th Cir. May 1, 2020).
Driving a truck owned by Four Seasons Trucking (FST), Mark Lucas crossed the center…
Sanctions Award Against Pro Se Plaintiff Upheld
By Tred R. Eyerly on
The plaintiff's failure to timely name an expert witness in his bad faith action led to sanctions being awarded against him in favor of the insurer. Black v. Fireman's Fund Ins. Co., 2020 Cal. App. Unpub. LEXIS 2477 (Cal. Ct. App. April 23, 2020).
After Black's claim was denied by…
California Supreme Court Adopts Vertical Exhaustion for Long-Tail Claims
By Tred R. Eyerly on
In another round of litigation involving coverage issues between Montrose Chemical Corporation and its insurers, the California Supreme Court ruled in favor of Montrose, adopting vertical exhaustion of excess policies. Montrose Chem. Corp. of Calif. v. The Superior Court of Los Angeles County, 9 Ca. 5th 215 (2020).
In 1990…
Hacker’s Action Not Fraudulent: No Coverage
By Tred R. Eyerly on
The multi-peril policy did not provide coverage for ransom paid to a hacker in order to retrieve its servers. G&G Oil Co. of Ind. v. Cont' W. Ins. Co., 2020 Ind. App. LEXIS 126 (March 31, 2020).
G&G Oil Company held a multi-peril commercial policy from Continental. The Commercial Crime…
Coverage for Faulty Workmanship Denied
By Tred R. Eyerly on
The court found there was no coverage for the insureds' alleged negligent failure to construct a building. Evanston Ins. Co. v. DCM Contracting, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 63977 (N.D. Ga. Feb. 28, 2020).
Turning Point Church sued DCM Contracting for faulty workmanship on a construction project. Turning Point sent a…
Broker Not Agent of Insurer
By Tred R. Eyerly on
The court granted the insurer's motion for summary judgment, finding that the insured's broker was not an agent of the carrier. Maxum Indem. Co. v. Broken Spoke Bar & Grill, 2020 U.S. District. LEXIS 49736 (W.D. Ky. March 23, 2020).
The insured argued that "insurance Agent Clark" assured him that…
Hawaii Insurance Division Issues New Memorandum on Policy Handling During COVID-19
By Tred R. Eyerly on
The Hawaii Insurance Commissioner issued Memorandum 2020-4A on April 27, 2020, waiving certain requirements for insurers and to give instructions and guidelines.
First, the Insurance Division will not regard the following as unfair trade practices or unfair methods of competition under Haw. Rev. Stat, Art. 13:
. Waiving of fees, penalties,
…
Donations to Nonprofit Treated as Revenues for Business Interruption Calculations
By Tred R. Eyerly on
The court found that a nonprofit's donation receipts were included in its revenues for determining its business interruption claim. Alley Theatre v. Hanover Ins. Co., 2020 U.S Dist. LEXIS 52393 (S.D Tex. March 26, 2020).
Alley Theatre was closed due to Hurricane Harvey. It received donations after it was closed.
Texas Supreme Court Stands By Eight-Corners Rule In Determining Duty to Defend
By Tred R. Eyerly on
In answering a certified question from the Fifth Circuit, the Texas Supreme Court held that the eight-corners rule applied when determining the duty to defend even if the policy did not promise to defend suits that were "groundless, false or fraudulent." Richards v. State Farm Lloyds, 2020 WL 1313782 (Tex. March 20…