Merchants Preferred Insurance Company filed a declaratory judgment action in New York seeking a declaration that it had no duty to defend or to indemnify its insureds in an underlying Florida personal injury action arising...more
The recent decision of Marcantel v. State Farm Fire, No. 2:22-CV-01511, 2024 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 111077 (W.D. La. June 24, 2024) offers valuable lessons for policyholders regarding the importance of cooperation in the insurance...more
The parent of an infant sued Kim Eichle for Eichle’s alleged negligence in serving alcohol to her houseguest, Jacob Russo, who allegedly assaulted the infant, and for negligence in failing to keep the sidewalk at her...more
On April 11, California Attorney General (AG) Rob Bonta filed an amicus brief before the Supreme Court of the State of California arguing that policyholders should be able to assert claims under the state’s Unfair Competition...more
The Insurer issued an Auto Policy and an Umbrella Policy. The Auto Policy provided $100,000 of UIM coverage and the Umbrella Policy provided $2,000,000 of UIM coverage. Just like ARS § 12-555(C)(2),the Auto Policy barred UIM...more
We have written about class actions filed against State Farm and other carriers alleging systematic undervaluation of damaged vehicles. One of our articles focused on a decision by the Middle District of Georgia dismissing...more
An insurer generally acquires its insured’s rights against tortfeasors through subrogation. But what happens if the insured enters into a settlement and releases the responsible third party? Does the release extinguish the...more
Several years ago, I published a blog regarding the number of occurrences triggered under a liability policy for a motor vehicle accident in Florida. Other states also addressed this issue. Recently, the Federal District...more
New York Department of Financial Services (DFS) is concerned that AI’s self-learning behavior increases the risks of unlawful or unfair discrimination. DFS will audit insurers’ use of AI. Such insurers need to maintain...more
In our January insurance update, we include three state cases addressing some less common situations. It’s not often that a pollution exclusion is interpreted in the context of an auto policy. But the South Dakota Supreme...more
We bring you our March Insurance Update. As college basketball programs embark on the road to the final four, we select our top four insurance cases from the past month. In a dispute over the priority of coverage, the...more
“If you and we fail to agree on the amount of loss, either party can demand that the amount of the loss be set by appraisal. . . . [e]ach party will select a qualified, disinterested appraiser[,]” is a phrase known all too...more
In a recent unpublished opinion, the 11th Circuit upheld summary judgment for an auto insurer on claims of breach of contract, bad faith and outrage stemming from an underinsured motorist (UIM) claim. Voss v. State Farm Mut....more
In most circumstances involving an insurer’s extension of coverage for a property loss, an appraisal provision in an insurance policy provides an insured and an insurer a mechanism by which to resolve disagreements regarding...more
In Hinojos v. State Farm Lloyds, the Supreme Court of Texas addressed liability under the Texas Prompt Payment of Claims Act (the “TPPCA”) when an insurer timely pays only part of a claim....more
In our March Insurance Update, we discuss four state supreme court cases and four cybercrime cases. The state high courts address: •From whose perspective should a consent-to-settle provision be judged? •What standard...more
In July of 2020, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit revisited and affirmed its prediction that Texas courts will not allow extrinsic evidence to determine an insurer’s duty to defend where such evidence...more
In response to the wave of litigation over COVID-19-related business income claims, an overwhelming majority of courts considering the relevant policy language — approximately 80% — have found no coverage as a matter of law...more
Is it possible for a public adjuster to be considered disinterested in the outcome of a case, yet get paid based on the outcome of that same case? Florida’s Third District Court of Appeal says yes, for now! ...more
In a putative class action, Santoro v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co., 2020 WL 6586630, 19-CV-9782 (CS) (S.D.N.Y. Nov. 9, 2020), District Court Judge Cathy Seibel dismissed the plaintiff’s complaint under Rule...more
The Made Whole Rule and the handling of the insured’s deductible and uninsured losses alongside the subrogation claim remain ever-present topics of discussion amongst subrogation professionals and within subrogation case law....more
One practice that has plagued the insurance industry in recent years has been contractors soliciting homeowners to make insurance claims after a hailstorm, for example, and then obtaining an assignment of rights to the claim...more
In State Farm Fire & Cas. Co. v. Amazon.com, Inc., No. 3:18CV166-M-P, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 189053 (Oct. 31, 2019), the United States District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi considered a Motion for Judgment on...more
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...more
On August 19, 2019 a federal judge in the Northern District of California denied State Farm Life Insurance Company’s (State Farm) motion for summary judgment on Plaintiff Elizabeth A. Bally’s claims for conversion and breach...more