In Washington, late notice may not preclude coverage, but it could cost you your fee claim
The Washington Court of Appeals recently issued an unpublished opinion that should serve as a warning to policyholders pursuing coverage in Washington. On its surface, The Port of Longview v. Arrowood Indemnity Co. (Aug. 2, [...]
Oregon federal court endorses broad definition of “property damage”
In a recent case, Oregon Shakespeare Festival Ass’n v. Great American Ins. Co., the federal District Court for the District of Oregon adopted a liberal interpretation of “property damage.” The Oregon Shakespeare Festival Association (OSF) [...]
Oregon Court of Appeals rejects bullying by auto insurer
Insureds who have suffered a loss face the certain consequences of physical and financial healing, but they may also have to contend with a little salt poured into the wound by their own insurer. A [...]
Update: Insurer asks for reconsideration of opinion affirming insured’s attorney-fee award
Last week, I posted this article about the Ninth Circuit’s recent opinion affirming a $3.5 million attorney-fee award in favor of Schnitzer Steel against its insurer, Continental Casualty Co. Continental is unsatisfied with how it [...]
Insureds cannot let sleeping dogs lie during policy periods
A recent opinion by the Washington Supreme Court serves as an important reminder to insureds that changes during a policy’s coverage ought to be carefully minded to avoid gaps in insurance coverage. As I’ve written [...]
Ninth Circuit rejects insurer’s attempt to avoid paying its insured’s attorneys’ fees
As my colleague, Kevin Mapes, wrote in an article last year, an insurer had raised the hackles of policyholder-side lawyers in Oregon in arguing that insureds successfully suing their insurers for coverage could not recover [...]
Courts continue to struggle with specialty cyber-insurance products
Following a significant victory for policyholders earlier this year for cyber security losses under CGL (Commercial General Liability) policies, in PF Chang’s China Bistro, Inv. v. Federal Ins. Co. a federal judge in Arizona recently [...]
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 [...]
Oregon Supreme Court eases the path to hold insurers accountable for bad-faith practices
Yesterday the Supreme Court of Oregon overruled Stubblefield v. St. Paul Fire & Marine (1973) and paved the way for a more commonsense approach to negotiating stipulated judgments. Stipulated judgments have been a well-worn, though [...]
Nevada Joins States Protecting Insureds from Lawyers Serving Two Masters
Nevada recently became the latest jurisdiction to protect the interests of policyholders by adopting the so-called Cumis counsel rule. In State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co. v. Hansen (Sept. 24, 2015), the Nevada Supreme Court held [...]
