The attorney-client privilege is the oldest of the common law privileges for withholding confidential communications recognized in American jurisprudence. It allows a person to seek legal advice and representation without...more
On June 28, 2019, a divided Supreme Court of Texas issued a pair of important opinions addressing how an insurer’s timely payment of an appraisal award impacts the viability of a policyholder’s contractual and...more
While the November 8, 2018 Court of Appeal of Texas, Fort Worth Division opinion reverses a trial court’s judgment on grounds of legal insufficiency and standing, the court’s analysis and application of current Texas bad...more
In an opinion dated September 28, 2017, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, Western District, considered as an issue of first impression the level of proof required to prevail in a bad faith claim, examining the elements of a bad...more
On Friday, April, 7, 2017, the Texas Supreme Court issued its opinion in USAA Texas Lloyds Company v. Menchaca, describing its ruling as clarifying much of the confusion that has existed among the courts in Texas with respect...more
On February 24, 2017, the Texas Supreme Court reinstated a state trial court ruling that an “insured-versus insured” exclusion barred coverage under a D&O policy for the costs of defending a lawsuit. Because the D&O insurer...more
Mississippi essentially has three levels of claim when insurance is at issue: (1) mere breach of contract, allowing recovery of contract damages; (2) breach of contract + no arguable basis for breach, which entitles recovery...more
On June 29, 2015, in responding to a certified question from the U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii, the Hawaii Supreme Court held in St. Paul Fire & Marine Ins. Co. v. Liberty Mutual Ins. Co., SCCQ-14-0000727,...more
In many states, pleading and proving the existence of a valid contract is necessary for both a breach of contract cause of action and also for a viable bad faith claim, and the Alabama Supreme Court addressed exactly that...more
In Santacruz v. Allstate Texas Lloyds, Inc., 2014 WL 5870429 (Nov. 13, 2014), the 5th Circuit allowed a policyholder to pursue a claim for common law and statutory bad faith even though the policyholder repaired the alleged...more
The Hawaii Supreme Court in Nautilus Ins. Co. v. Lexington Ins. Co., — P.3d —-, 2014 WL 560805 (2014), answers the following certified questions from the 9th Circuit on “other insurance” provisions and the duty to defend....more
In Brechbill v. State Farm Fire & Cas. Co., No. 1111117, ___ So. 3d ___, 2013 WL 5394444, 2013 Ala. LEXIS 126 (Ala. Sept. 27, 2013), the Alabama Supreme Court held that there is only one, as opposed to two, causes of action...more
For Texans, the prime hurricane season from August to September is now over. Although there were no big storms this year, claims handlers still need to be attentive to timely adjusting their first party claims. The Texas...more
Due to changes effective January 1, 2013, the Florida Motor Vehicle No-Fault Law now codified the insured’s obligation to submit to an examination under oath (EUO). The newly amended statutory language explicitly states...more
The South Dakota Supreme Court in Bertelsen v. Allstate Insurance Co., 833 N.W.2d 545, No. 26442 (June 12, 2013) (1) held that an insurer cannot avoid bad faith liability by claiming it did not know about controlling claims...more
The New York Court of Appeals, New York’s highest state court, recently held – in what appears to be a new position in New York – that an insurer that breached its duty to defend could not later rely on otherwise applicable...more
In its recent decision in Powell v. Cherokee Insurance Company, Case No.: 5:09-CV-00205, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky reaffirmed that in a third-party bad faith lawsuit alleging failure to...more
In what may be the continuation of a trend toward the erosion of the attorney-client privilege and work product doctrine in bad faith litigation, another court has held that an insurer’s communications with defense counsel...more
Intermodal Equipment Logistics, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas -
Earlier this year, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas ruled an insured can pursue its bad faith claim even...more
On October 15, 2012, the U.S. District Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit – applying Texas law – addressed another Cumis counsel matter. See Coats, Rose, Yale, Ryman & Lee, P.C. v. Navigators Specialty Ins. Co., No....more