After a panel rehearing, the Seventh Circuit in Emmis Communications Corp. v. Illinois National Insurance Co., No. 18-3392 (7th Cir. Aug. 21, 2019), vacated a prior judgment and withdrew an opinion issued in July 2019, finding upon second review that Emmis Communications was entitled to summary judgment in its favor with regard to a breach of contract claim against Illinois National Insurance Co. The litigation involved Illinois National's denial of insurance coverage to ... Keep Reading »
Appraise Away Says Florida’s Fifth DCA
Many homeowners insurance policies allow the insurer or the insured to invoke appraisal to resolve disagreements about the amount of the loss. Nonetheless, when one party invokes appraisal, the other party will sometimes refuse to participate in the process, forcing the party invoking appraisal to obtain a court order compelling the other party to participate. Fortunately, the recent decision in Underwriters at Lloyd's, London, ICAT Syndicate 4242 v. Sorgenfrei, No. ... Keep Reading »
Florida Court Holds It Was “Miscarriage of Justice” to Deny Insurer Award of Appellate Fees
Florida's offer of judgment statute, Florida Statutes section 768.79, is a common technique for any litigator who wants to place additional risk on the plaintiff. The statute provides that if a defendant in a civil suit files an offer of judgment that is not accepted by the plaintiff within 30 days, the defendant shall be entitled to recover reasonable attorneys' fees and costs from the date of filing if the judgment is one of no liability or the judgment obtained by the ... Keep Reading »
The Insurer’s Howler, or How Travelers Proved Its Insured’s Case
What happens when an insurer presents evidence at trial that supports the insured's case? Answer: The evidence can be used to sustain the jury verdict for the insured-plaintiff. That is the lesson learned by Travelers in the Connecticut Supreme Court, despite: (1) Travelers' moving for directed verdict after the plaintiff's case-in-chief; (2) the trial court's reserving its ruling until after the defense's case; and (3) Travelers' renewing its motion for directed ... Keep Reading »
Second Circuit Confirms: Rolling Trash Cans Are Not “Vehicles” as Common Sense Prevails Again
In July 2018, we wrote about an interesting decision out of the Southern District of New York in which a court rejected a claim that an exclusion did not apply because a recycling bin on wheels was a "vehicle" under the applicable "all risks" insurance policy. We described the district court's decision that the glorified trash can was not a "vehicle" as a victory for common sense over a claim based on a hypertechnical definition. The Second Circuit has now affirmed ... Keep Reading »
War of the Words: Ninth Circuit Reverses Judgment for the Insurer in Rare War Exclusion Case
In Universal Cable Prods. LLC v. Atlantic Specialty Ins. Co., 2:16 cv-04435 PA, (9th Cir. July 12, 2019), the Ninth Circuit reversed the district court’s determinations as it relates to the application of two war exclusions. In the summer of 2014, Universal Cable Productions was filming a television series, Dig, in Jerusalem. During filming, hostilities arose in the region as Hamas, a Palestinian political movement, began firing rockets from Gaza into Israel. The ... Keep Reading »
New York’s Highest Court Holds Untimely Disclosure Is Not an Untimely Disclaimer
The defendant, Preferred Contractors Insurance Company Risk Retention Group LLC (PCIC), is a risk retention group charted in Montana and doing business in New York. PCIC issued a CGL policy naming defendant Nadkos Inc. as an additional insured for liability related to the ongoing operations of the subcontractor and other members of the risk retention group. PCIC disclaimed coverage for Nadkos for an underlying personal injury action by an employee of Nadkos' ... Keep Reading »
When Should an Insurer Deny Coverage? The Second Circuit Provides Guidance on What Constitutes a Reasonable Time by Which to Deny Coverage Under New York Law
Under New York law, a liability insurer is required to deny coverage for bodily injury resulting from an auto accident “as soon as is reasonably possible.” N.Y. Ins. Law § 3420(d)(2). The Second Circuit recently shed light on what constitutes a reasonable time within the meaning of this statute in United Financial Casualty Co. v. Country-Wide Insurance Co., No. 18-3022 (2d Cir. July 1, 2019). In that case, Juan Pineda was involved in a three-vehicle accident while ... Keep Reading »
Colorado Federal Court Rejects Attorney-Client Privilege for Communications Between Insurer’s Claims Adjuster and In-House Counsel
In Olsen v. Owners Insurance Co., No. 1:18-cv-01665, 2019 WL 2502201 (D. Colo. June 17, 2019), the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado found that neither the attorney-client privilege nor the work-product doctrine protected documents containing communications between the insurer's claims adjuster and its in-house counsel, where such documents did not contain legal advice or the insurer's strategy for defending against the civil action. In this case, the ... Keep Reading »
New York State Court Affirms All-Sums Allocation Method
A New York state court explored the proper allocation method for insurance policies with non-cumulation clauses covering asbestos exposure loss occurring over the course of multiple successive policy periods in In re Liquidation of Midland Insurance Co. At issue were four excess policies issued by Midland to ASARCO LLC, which, through one of its subsidiaries, engaged in the selling of asbestos products. A series of asbestos claims against ASACRO ensued, and ASARCO sought ... Keep Reading »
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