A commentary on insurance coverage issues in Hawaii and beyond
The insured's claims for breach of contract and bad faith remained while his claims for deceptive practices and punitive damages were dismissed. Fishberg v. State Farm Fire & Cas. Co., 2021 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 135043 (S.D. N. Y. July 20, 2021).
The insured rented a apartment. He was insured…
The Colorado Supreme Court determined that the insurer defending under a reservation of rights could not intervene in the underlying case after the insured assigned its rights to any bad faith claim against the insurer. Auto-Owners Ins. Co. v. Bolt Factory Lofts Owners Ass'n, Inc., 2021 Colo. LEXIS 365 (Colo. May 24…
The Hawaii Supreme Court has granted certiorari to hear an appeal from the Intermediate Court of Appeals decision in Carvalho v. AIG Hawaii Insurance Company, 148 Haw. 370, 477 P.3d 164 (Haw. Ct. App. 2020). A summary of the ICA decision is here. The ICA reversed the trial court's granting of summary…
The court found that the excess carrier had grounds to challenge the primary carrier's allocation of a settlement payment. Scottsdale Ins. Co. v. Certain Underwriters at Lloyds, London, 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 39771 (9th Cir Dec. 18, 2020).
in the underlying case, Underwriters settled on behalf of the insured law…
The Mississippi Supreme Court held that the insurer must produce written communications from and make available for deposition the in-house counsel who orchestrated the denial of coverage. Travelers Pro. Cas. Co. of Am. v. 100 Renaissance, LLC, 2020 Miss. LEXIS 409 (Miss. Oct. 29, 2020).
An unidentified driver struck a…
The Hawaii Intermediate Court of Appeals reversed the trial court's granting of summary judgment to the insurer on the insured's bad faith claim. Carvalho v. AIG Hawaii Insurance Company, Inc., 2020 Haw. App. LEXIS 382 (Haw. Ct. App. Nov. 16, 2020).
Plaintiff Carvalho's son was killed in a two-car accident.
The federal district court granted, in part, the insured's motion for summary judgment seeking coverage for a collapse of a church's ceiling. Derbyshire Baptist Church v. Church Mut. Ins. Co., 2020 U.S. Distl LEXIS 113346 (E.D. Va. June 29, 2020).
A large portion of the sanctuary ceiling of the insured's…
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…
The insurer's motion to dismiss a bad faith count was granted because the existence of coverage was "fairly debatable" under New Jersey law. Merchants Mut. Ins. Co. v. 215 14th St., LLC, 2020 U.S. District. LEXIS 23664 (D. N. J. Feb. 10, 2020).
Coverage for damage to the insured's commercial building…
The Ninth Circuit agreed with a jury that the insurer breached the farm insurance policy and the duty of good faith and fair dealing in denying a claim for, among other things, theft of cattle. Chatelain v. Country Mut. Ins. Co., 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 34530 (9th Cir. Nov. 20, 2019).
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