Bill on Bankruptcy: What's in the $83M ResCap Examiner's Report?
Today on “Don't Take No for an Answer,” hosts Lynda A, Bennett and Eric Jesse discuss what they see as an increase in insurers acting in bad faith trying to avoid their coverage obligations, with more roadblocks, more...more
On May 5, 2023, the California Court of Appeal for the Second District released a policyholder-friendly decision reiterating the importance of an insurer’s duty to defend. The case also is a reminder to policyholders to...more
Southern District Finds That Exclusion In HO3 Form Precludes Coverage Even Though Form Inadvertently Omitted From Copy Of Policy Sent To Insured- Scottsdale Insurance Company issued a homeowner’s policy to 232 Dune Road...more
Plaintiffs often allege an insurer breached the duty of good faith and fair dealing by conducting an unreasonable and/or an inadequate investigation. But, Arizona courts have held for over 30 years that an insurer’s...more
Insurance companies operate nationwide, no pun intended, and with that area of coverage comes more than their fair share of litigation. Common to each and every case is the consideration of whether the court has personal...more
After years of pursuing life insurers with Cost of Insurance (COI) class actions, we are now seeing a new life insurance secondary market investor strategy — suing life insurers on a class action basis for not paying enough...more
Insurance companies typically incorporate intentional harm exclusions into their homeowners’ insurance policies, which allow them to deny coverage where the insured intentionally causes bodily injury or property damage....more
In the first half of 2020, two decisions were issued by federal appellate courts related to the lapse of life insurance policies. Both decisions affirmed the insurer’s position and rejected challenges to the determination of...more
As the number of filings of COVID-19 coverage actions continue to increase, we thought it would be useful to review these cases for our insurer readership so they can better understand the issues and themes that are emerging...more
Your friend invites you out to dinner. She offers to pick you up since your house is on the way. As you head toward the restaurant, your friend’s car is sideswiped by a driver who blew through a red light. You are seriously...more
No Recovery for Paying Premiums in Excess of Policy Face Amount - Since we last reported on Goostree v. Liberty National Life Insurance Co. in the October 2019 issue of Expect Focus — Life, Annuity, and Retirement Solutions,...more
WHILE THERE REMAINS NO BAD FAITH CAUSE OF ACTION IN NEW YORK, A RECENT APPELLATE DIVISION CASE OUT OF THE FIRST DEPARTMENT MAKES PLAIN THAT AN INSURED NEED NOT MEET A HEIGHTENED PLEADING STANDARD WITH RESPECT TO CONSEQUENTIAL...more
I recently had occasion to read through the Illinois Surplus Line Law in detail when I noticed something interesting: surplus lines insurance companies may not be subject to the cap on bad faith damages usually applied to...more
The California Court of Appeal recently disposed of a novel attack on bad faith law launched by Zurich American Insurance Company. In Miller Marital Deduction Trust, et al. v. Zurich American Insurance Company, 2019 DJDAR...more
McClendon v. North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Co. (M.D. Tenn. 2019) - In McClendon, the plaintiff’s mother purchased a whole life insurance policy to insure the plaintiff’s brother, and subsequently took out a loan on...more
McDonnel Group LLC obtained a builder’s risk policy for a construction project on a property located in New Orleans, Louisiana. When the insured was denied coverage, it filed suit seeking damages for breach of contract and...more
An insured sought coverage under its commercial property insurance policy for property damage incurred after construction work was performed in an adjoining building. ...more
The Holding - In Centeno v. American Liberty Ins. Co., 2019 WL 568926 (D. Ariz. Feb. 12, 2019) (Order), an insurance bad faith case arising from a workers’ compensation claim, the Arizona District Court granted a motion to...more
In Century Surety Company v. Dana Andrew (Dec. 13, 2018), the Nevada Supreme Court issued an opinion regarding whether, under Nevada law, the liability of an insurer that has breached its duty to defend, but not acted in bad...more
The plaintiff in D.K. Prop., Inc. v. Nat'l Union Fire Ins. Co. of Pittsburgh, PA., No. 650733/17, 2019 WL 237454 (N.Y. App. Div. Jan. 17, 2019) claimed that its building began to shift and exhibit structural damage, including...more
In a 2017 opinion, Xia v. ProBuilders Specialty Insurance Company, the Washington State Supreme Court analyzed whether an insurer breached its duty of good faith and fair dealing in refusing to defend its contractor insured...more
Catlin Specialty Insurance Company v. CBL & Associates Properties Inc., C.A. No. N16C-07-166 PRW CCLD (August 9, 2018) - This is an important decision because it upholds the right of an insurance company to recover defense...more
Following the June 4, 2018 landmark decision by the California Supreme Court in Liberty Surplus Insurance Corporation v. Ledesma & Meyer Construction Company, 5 Cal. 5th 216 (2018), the insurance industry is not taking the...more
In this case, plaintiffs Keller Foundations LLC, a limited liability construction company (“Keller”), Hayward Baker Inc., a construction services corporation (“HBI”), and their parent Keller Group PLC (“Keller Group”) brought...more
On April 13, 2018, the Texas Supreme Court issued its highly-anticipated decision on rehearing in USAA Tex. Lloyds Co. v. Menchaca, 2018 Tex. LEXIS 313 (Tex. Apr. 13, 2018). This replaced an earlier opinion dated April 7,...more