Florida Court of Appeals again holds that insureds may assign rights under a policy after a loss occurs.
Last year, I wrote about a decision by Florida’s Fourth District Court of Appeal (link here) holding that an insured, post-loss, could assign its claim against its homeowner’s insurance policy. Recently, the same issue was [...]
Across the Spectrum: Utah’s Recent Move Toward a Proper Interpretation of “Occurrence” In Commercial General Liability Policies
Fortunately for Utah policyholders, a recent District of Utah decision has continued the trend toward liberalizing Commercial General Liability (“CGL”) coverage in Utah. In The Cincinnati Ins. Co. v. Spectrum Devel. Corp, the District of [...]
Insurer’s claim denial may violate state consumer-protection statutes even when the insurer has no duty to defend
As I wrote in an earlier blog post (see my August 10, 2015 article here), insurers have a duty to defend their policyholders against any potentially covered loss, which means that insurers are required to [...]
Florida Court of Appeal case serves as a reminder to be mindful of how claims are pleaded
A recent opinion out of the Fourth District Court of Appeal in Florida highlights the importance of properly pleading claims so that insurance coverage is triggered. In Mid-Continent Cas. Co. v. Royal Crane, LLC, Cloutier [...]
Phantom Menace: Beware of Unknown Unknowns in Contracts
Written contracts generally provide a very stable method of making promises enforceable. Reducing all promises to a single self-contained writing reduces surprises and provides a single yardstick to measure compliance. Unfortunately, many contracts today – [...]
Interpreting “vandalism” shows how ambiguity works in insurance-coverage disputes
Intention can be a tricky concept in many areas of the law, from criminal prosecutions to insurance-coverage cases, as illustrated in a recent California case, Hung Van Ong v. Fire Ins. Exchange (Apr. 3, 2015). The Ong [...]
Federal Court in Florida Finds Insurer Has No Duty to Defend Insured During Chapter 558 Process
Recently, a federal district court in Florida held that the Chapter 558 process is not a “suit” under a commercial general liability policy and the insurer had no obligation to defend the insured during this [...]
California court confirms that any “potentially covered” loss triggers the duty to defend
When threatened with a lawsuit, an insured’s first call is often to his or her insurer, asking the insurer to hire lawyers to defend the lawsuit. All too often the insurer’s initial response is that [...]
Insureds should be careful not to release an entire policy
Rather than litigating the amount of coverage, an insured may — and often does — settle the claim. The insured may do this for a variety of reasons, including wanting to avoid the time and [...]
Protecting Against Disclosure of Prior Settlement Agreements at Trial
On July 22, 2015, the Court of Appeals reaffirmed its prior decision in Alfieri v. Solomon, 263 Or App 494 (2014), petition for review granted, 356 Or 516 (2014) that confidential communications made during and/or [...]