Federal Court in Florida Refuses to Let Excess Insurer Escape $23M Claim Where Deficient Work Caused Damage to Project Itself
Last week, a federal district court in Florida reaffirmed the black-letter law in Florida that claims against a general contractor for damage to the completed project resulting from the defective work of a subcontractor constitutes [...]
Federal Judge Orders Peek at How Insurer Adjusts Property-Loss Claims
A federal judge in Arizona recently picked the insured to win a discovery battle familiar to coverage lawyers, ordering that the insurer must produce its training and claims-handling manuals. This is excellent news to insureds [...]
Insurer Not Allowed to Benefit from Its Refusal to Acknowledge Coverage
A California appellate court recently handed an insurer a nasty defeat in a case involving some pretty sharp elbows by the insurer during the adjustment of a property-loss claim. In Stephens & Stephens XII, LLC [...]
Past the Statute of Limitations for a Construction-Defect Case? Try Looking at Your First-Party Property Policy for Coverage.
The Seventh Circuit just released an opinion in Strauss v. Chubb Indemnity Insurance on November 18, 2014, upholding coverage for insureds who discovered the presence of long-term water damage five years after their insurance policies had expired, [...]
May an insured demand to see the insurer’s claim file? Depends on what you ask for and when you’re asking.
Recently, the federal court for the Middle District of Florida applied a rule of great interest to insureds who believe that their insurer has wrongly denied coverage: whether the insurer’s “claim file” can be requested [...]
Broad and Ineffective “Reservation of Rights” Letter has Big Consequences
Broad and Ineffective “Reservation of Rights” Letter has Big Consequences Insurers issue reservation of rights letters (“ROR Letters”) to contractors all the time. Typically, a contractor is sued, reports the claim, and one of the [...]
Ninth Circuit hands out tough decision for innocent insureds seeking a defense from the insurer
The Ninth Circuit, applying Arizona law, recently held that an insurer may avoid the duty to defend innocent insureds based on somewhat unique terms in a liability policy. In IFC v. Roman Catholic Church, (9th. [...]
Insurance Coverage: Change in Idaho Court Rule Could Mean Big Problems for Judgment Creditors
Judgment Creditors Seeking Reimbursement Under a Judgment Debtor’s Liability Policy Could Face Difficulty Recently the Idaho Supreme Court approved a modification to the Idaho Rules of Civil Procedure regarding joinder of parties to declaratory-relief actions [...]
Washington Supreme Court Fortifies and Protects the Duty to Defend
Getting an insurer first to provide a defense, and then keeping the insurer from abandoning that defense during what can be years of expensive litigation, preoccupies many companies facing ruinous litigation expenses. The Washington Supreme [...]
Relying on a Certificate of Insurance? Don’t.
Property owners want assurances that their contractors have sufficient liability insurance, which often means that contractors must submit certificates of insurance before starting work. But to the dismay of many owners after it’s too late [...]