A commentary on insurance coverage issues in Hawaii and beyond
The federal district court in Tennessee granted the insured’s motion for summary judgment finding the appraisal award was properly determined despite the insurer’s argument that the appraisal panel considered causation of the loss. Nashville Communications, Inc. v. Auto-Owners (Mutual) Ins. Co., 2025 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 223455 (M.D. Tenn. Nov. 13, 2025)
A windstorm struck…
The California federal district court granted the insured’s motion to compel appraisal despite the existence of outstanding coverage issues. K4 Dev. LLC v. ACE Am. Ins. Co., et al., 2025 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 211337 (C.D. Cal. Oct. 6. 2025).
The insured owned hotel property. It was insured by ACE while the hotel was under…
The court conditionally granted the insurer’s writ of mandamus to compel an appraisal after the trial court denied the insurer’s motion to compel appraisal. In re Am. Zurich Ins. Co., 2025 Tex. App. LEXIS 8932 (Tex. Ct. App. Nov. 20, 2025).
The insureds, Jay Steinfeld and Barbara Winthrop (Steinfeld) ,hired Southhampton Group to build…
The Seventh Circuit affirmed the district court's ruling that the appraisers appointed under the policy provisions to establish the amount of loss could also find the cause of the loss. Mesco Manufacturing, LLC v. Motorists Mut. Ins. Co., 2025 U.S. App. LEXIS 18598 (7th Cir. July 25, 2025).
Mesco Manufacturing…
The insurer's challenge to an appraisal award that was more than the insureds' proof of loss was rejected by the court. Larson, et al. v. Auto-Owners Ins. Co., Iowa Dist. Ct. No. LACV053659 (Iowa Dist. Ct. June 4, 2025).
The insureds' home was damaged by hail. The insureds and Auto-Owners disagreed…
The insurer's challenge to an appraisal award was rejected by the federal district court. Bogaerts v. State Farm Fire and Cas. Co., 2025 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 102170 (E.D. Mich. May 29, 2025).
The plaintiffs' home was destroyed by fire. State Farm was notified of the loss and after an inspection…
The Illinois Appellate Court held that issues of causation can be part of an appraisal process. Xaing Zhoa v. State Farm Fire & Cas., Co., 2025 Ill App. LEXIS 903 (Ill. App. Ct. May 12, 2025).
The insured had a homeowners policy with State Farm. A hailstorm damaged the insured's…
The Virginia Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court's conclusion that an appraisal award was not an arbitration award reviewable under the arbitration statute. Church Mutual Ins. Co., S.K. v. Ephesus Richmond Seventh-Day Adventist Church, 2025 Va. App. LEXIS 214 (Va. Ct. App. April 8, 2025).
Ephesus held a property…
The court granted the insurer's motion for summary judgment agreeing that the "increased Cost of Construction" provision limited the amount the appraisers could award. Bigfoot Co-Op A, Inc. v. Nationwide Mut. Ins. Co., Case No. 3:24-cv-00022-SMR-WPK (S.D Iowa April 21, 2025).
A hailstorm damaged five apartment buildings owned by insured…
The court granted the insurer's motion for summary judgment when the insured failed to raise a genuine issue of material fact as to whether he insurer acted in bad faith. Dillen v. QBE Ins. Corp. 2025 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 24742 (S.D. Texas Feb. 11, 2025).
The insureds were away from…
