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DarrowEverett LLP

Title Insurance or Not, Don’t Dismiss the Value of Title Search

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For those of you who question whether an owner’s policy of title insurance is a waste of money, please remember that examining title is still an essential component of due diligence investigations. Real estate investments are...more

Butler Weihmuller Katz Craig LLP

Litigating Tile Roof Claims

Hurricane Irma’s landfall in Florida produced an avalanche of property insurance claims throughout the state, the majority of which involved reported damage to roofs.  Though many of these claims were legitimate, enterprising...more

Butler Weihmuller Katz Craig LLP

What to Expect When You Are Adjusting: A Primer for Hurricane Ian Property Claims

​​​​​​​The last week of September, 2022, the State of Florida braced for what was categorized to be one of the worst storms to make landfall in U.S. history. Initially, all weather channels displayed the storm’s trajectory...more

Cozen O'Connor

Court in Montana Applies Anti-Concurrent Causation Clause to Earth Movement Exclusion

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A district court in Montana recently applied an anti-concurrent clause in a property insurance policy to preclude coverage based on an earth movement exclusion. In Ward v. Safeco Ins. Co. of Amer., No. 1:19-CV-0133-SPW, 2021...more

Cozen O'Connor

Louisiana Federal Court Upholds Applicability of Anti-Concurrent Causation Exclusion for Hurricane Damage

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In a timely reaffirmation of the Fifth Circuit’s 2007 ruling in Leonard v. Nationwide Mut. Ins. Co., a Louisiana federal court recently upheld the application of an insurance policy’s Anti-Concurrent Causation Clause (“ACC”)...more

Butler Weihmuller Katz Craig LLP

Heads I win, Tails You Lose: Southern Owners Insurance Company v. MAC Contractors

On July 29, 2020, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals issued its opinion in Southern Owners Ins. Co. v. MAC Contractors, of Fla., LLC, --- Fed. Appx. ---, 2020 WL 4345199 (11th Cir. July 29, 2020).  While claiming to follow...more

Carlton Fields

Texas District Court Compels Arbitration Involving Hurricane Harvey Loss

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In opposing a motion to compel arbitration, Nueces County made two procedural arguments: first, that the carrier waived its right to arbitrate by virtue of the policy’s service-of-suit clause....more

Butler Weihmuller Katz Craig LLP

Pretzel Logic: Cheetham V. Southern Oak And Its Ill-Begotten Progeny

The standard ISO homeowners insurance policy contains an exclusion for damage caused by water which backs up through sewers or drains.  While this appears to be an unambiguous exclusion, using twisted logic, the Third...more

Carlton Fields

Texas District Court Finds Arbitration Required in Hurricane Harvey Dispute and That Independent Adjusting Firm May Join in...

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This action involves plaintiff Living Steward Properties’ insurance claim for property damage caused by Hurricane Harvey. The insurer defendants moved to compel arbitration of the plaintiff’s claims that the insurer...more

Troutman Pepper

Factors to Consider in Negotiating Indemnification Provisions

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One of the most negotiated and fundamental provisions in any contract is the manner in which the parties will allocate risk. Also known as an “indemnity” or an “indemnification provision,” these provisions are not commonly...more

Robins Kaplan LLP

Hot off the Presses: California Further Regulates Out-of-State Adjusters in the Wake of Record-Breaking Catastrophic Losses

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IN RESPONSE TO RECORD-BREAKING FIRE LOSSES IN 2017, THE CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR SIGNED THE INSURANCE ADJUSTER ACT OF 2019 INTO LAW ON OCTOBER 3, 2019, WHICH NOW TAKES IMMEDIATE EFFECT TO GOVERN THE USE OF OUT-OF-STATE ADJUSTERS...more

Carlton Fields

Connecticut Supreme Court Fortifies Crumbling Foundation Claim Denials in Trio of Insurer Victories

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A year ago, we wrote about a rapidly emerging area of insurance litigation in Connecticut: crumbling foundations. As a quick recap, tens of thousands of homes in northeastern Connecticut built over a span of more than 30...more

Butler Weihmuller Katz Craig LLP

A Brief Refresher On Appraisal In North Carolina, South Carolina, And Georgia

Most first party property coverage policies contain an appraisal provision that allows either the insured or the insurer to make a written demand for appraisal when the parties agree that covered property was damaged by a...more

Carlton Fields

Court Finds Animals Incapable of Vandalism or Malicious Mischief for Insurance Purposes (and all other purposes, too)

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I am willing to go out on a limb and say that if asked whether an animal, say, a raccoon, is capable of committing malicious criminal acts, most humans would agree that the issue is beyond dispute. But, alas, most humans...more

Cozen O'Connor

Failure of Insured to Provide Requested Documents Triggers Appraisal Under First Party Insurance Policy

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Those familiar with first party insurance policies have undoubtedly encountered a recurring issue with the interpretation of appraisal provisions – what does it mean to disagree on the amount of loss?  ...more

Butler Weihmuller Katz Craig LLP

The Evolving Limitations on Appraisers in Florida: Analyzing State Farm Florida Ins. Co. v. Sanders

Appraisers are frequently involved in Florida property claims. Accordingly, Florida courts continue to refine the roles and limitations with respect to appraisers and the appraisal process as a whole. ...more

Carlton Fields

Florida Federal Court Compels Arbitration of Coverage Dispute Under the New York Convention

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The plaintiff sought coverage for property loss due to Hurricane Irma, and the defendant successfully moved to compel arbitration. The plaintiff opposed arbitration, arguing that the subject policy was unsigned and thus did...more

Robinson+Cole Property Insurance Coverage...

New Statutory Framework Confronts Florida’s AOB Crisis

A new law represents a major step forward to remedy Florida’s assignment of benefits (“AOB”) crisis, which Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has described as a “racket” in recent years....more

Butler Weihmuller Katz Craig LLP

What Baseball Has Taught Me About The Insurance Appraisal Process

Anyone who has ever watched baseball knows that umpires sometimes make an incorrect call. In appraisal of a property insurance claim, sometimes the umpire can make a mistake as well....more

Cozen O'Connor

Eleventh Circuit Holds Attorneys’ Fees Are Not Warranted Where Policyholder Filed Suit Instead of Undergoing Appraisal

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The Eleventh Circuit, in J.P.F.D. Investment Corp. v. United Specialty Insurance Co., recently affirmed a district court’s denial of statutory attorneys’ fees to a policyholder that, to resolve a disagreement over the amount...more

Robinson+Cole Property Insurance Coverage...

District of New Jersey Applies Anti-Concurrent Causation Provision to Superstorm Sandy Claim

In a recent decision arising out of Superstorm Sandy, the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey confirmed the enforceability of anti-concurrent causation provisions. Zero Barnegat Bay, LLC v. Lexington...more

Butler Weihmuller Katz Craig LLP

Pennsylvania court rules insurer may still be responsible to pay RCV even if repairs never completed.

In situations where a property insurer denies coverage, the insured often complains that it is faced with a difficult dilemma – use its own money to fund repairs or avoid making repairs and risk having its recovery limited to...more

Carlton Fields

Court Enforces Policy’s Crumbling Foundation Plain Language in Dismissing Claims Against Insurers

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A federal judge in Connecticut recently dismissed claims against insurers related to their denial of a claim by two homeowners whose home’s foundation was crumbling. The case, Hyde v. Allstate Ins. Co., No. 3:18-cv-00031 (D....more

Cozen O'Connor

Florida Supreme Court Invited to Resolve Assignment-Of-Benefits Controversy

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At least two Florida appellate courts have directly contradicted each other on an increasingly-important question facing Floridians and the insurance industry. The question is as follows: “Are insurance provisions valid which...more

Butler Weihmuller Katz Craig LLP

Hurricane Florence is aiming for the Carolinas

Hurricane Florence is rapidly intensifying into a major hurricane, and is expected to make landfall later this week in North Carolina and South Carolina. The storm surge, destructive winds and rainfall flooding are expected...more

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