A commentary on insurance coverage issues in Hawaii and beyond
The court reversed dismissal of all claims against the insurers for a work-related death after determining that policy exclusions conflicted with statutory mandates on coverage. Waiau, et al. v. Hawaii Employers' Mut. Ins. Co, Inc., et al., 2024 Haw. App, LEXIS 583 (Haw. Ct. App., Dec. 31, 2014).
Amos K.
After being sued for negligence for failing to secure proper coverage, the broker was unsuccessful in seeking dismissal by way of summary judgment. Liverman Metal Recycling, Inc. v. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 87957 (E.D. N.C. May 25, 2018).
Plaintiffs were two companies, Empire and Liverman…
The Texas Supreme Court considered whether communications between the insurer's lawyer and the employer of the injured employee were privileged. See In Re XL Spec. Ins. Co., 2012 Tex. LEXIS 568 (Tex. June 20, 2011).
XL was Cintas Corporation's workers' compensation carrier. XL's policy required Cintas to cooperate in the investigation, settlement and…
Overruling its prior decision, the Texas Supreme Court held that newly enacted legislation did not waive governmental immunity for suits based on a political subdivision's alleged retaliation against an employee filing a workers compensation claim. See Travis Century Appraisal Dist. v. Norman, 2011 Tex. LEXIS 324 (Tex. April 29, 2011).
Ms. Norman started work for…
The insured employer adequately pled its claims against the California State Compensation Insurance Fund (SCIF), allowing it to survive a demurrer. Edward Carey Constr. Co. v. State Compensation Insurance Fund, 2011 Cal. App. LEXIS 457 (Cal. Ct. App. March 25, 2011, certified for publication April 20, 2011).
Edward Carey Construction Co. (CCC) had…
An upcoming article in the Pace Law Review will address the use of social networking in insurance and worker's compensation litigation. The abstract and draft article are here. The article addresses the intersection of professional responsibility, discovery, privacy, and evidence with social networking in state workers’ compensation systems.
Thanks to the authors…
Valuing an insured's "net worth" for determining eligibility for benefits under the Hawai`i Insurance Guaranty Association Act was before the court in C. Brewer and Company, Ltd. v. Hawaii Insurance Guaranty Assoc., 2010 Haw. App. LEXIS 200 (Haw. Ct. App. April 28, 2010).
C. Brewer bought excess workers' compensation insurance coverage from…
The liability of an insurance agent for failure to include coverage for workers compensation in the insured's policy was the issue in Williams v. HILB, Rogal and Hobbs Ins. Serv. of California, Inc., B203691, 2009 Cal. App. LEXIS 1496 (Cal. Ct. App. Sept. 9, 2009).
John Williams and Steve Simon obtained a dealership…
Whether the insured was acting within the course and scope of his employment contract was at issue when the Eighth Circuit Circuit reversed the District Court's determination of no workers' compensation coverage in Merriam v. National Union Fire Ins. Co. of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, No. 08-3547, 2009 U.S. App. LEXIS 15698 (8th Cir. July 17, 2009).
In our last post [here] we discussed a decision from the Oklahoma Supreme Court recognizing a bad faith claim against a workers' compensation insurer. My Damon Key colleague and fellow blogger, Mark Murakami (hawaiioceanlaw.com), informed me of a similar case winding its way through the trial court on Kauai. See Ordonez v. Hawaii Employers Mutual Ins. …
