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Insurance Litigation Insurance Industry Reversal

Marshall Dennehey

The Trial Court Incorrectly Entered Directed Verdict for the Insurer

Marshall Dennehey on

Wenzel v. Homeowners Choice Prop. & Cas. Ins. Co., Fla. 4th DCA, 4D2023-0088, Apr. 24, 2024 - Following a jury trial, the circuit court entered a directed verdict for the insurer and set aside the jury’s verdict, concluding...more

Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP

The California Supreme Court Confirms Vertical Exhaustion Applies for First-Layer Excess Insurers

In Truck Ins. Exch. v. Kaiser Cement, 321 Cal. Rptr. 3d 761, 549 P.3d 781 (2024), the California Supreme Court answered the question left open by Montrose Chem. Corp. v. Superior Ct., 9 Cal. 5th 215 (2020) (Montrose III): for...more

Cozen O'Connor

Iowa Supreme Court Rejects Restaurant’s Allegations of Bad Faith and Breach of Contract After Appraisal

Cozen O'Connor on

The Iowa Supreme Court recently reversed the appellate court’s denial of an insurer’s motion for a directed verdict, finding that United Fire did not breach the insurance policy and did not commit bad faith during a property...more

Cozen O'Connor

Claims Handling: Questions Are the Answer

Cozen O'Connor on

The key issue in insurance bad faith litigation is whether the claims professional reasonably handled the claim. Throughout the claims-handling process, the claims professional should constantly ask him-or-herself whether the...more

Carlton Fields

Coverage Claim Bites the Dust: Seventh Circuit Finds No Coverage for $50 Million Judgment Resulting From Dust Pollution Due to...

Carlton Fields on

In Greene v. Westfield Insurance Co., the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals recently affirmed summary judgment finding that commercial general liability policies issued by Westfield Insurance Co. did not cover a $50.56 million...more

Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP

Commonsense Prevails; Intentional Attack is not an Insured Accident

In a significant and likely influential decision, the Delaware Supreme Court recently reversed a lower court decision and held that the insured's intent—not that of the victim—controls whether or not bodily injury is an...more

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP

Fifth Circuit Decision Excluding Coverage under Pollution Exclusion for Damage to Stream Caused by Rock Fines

In a sweeping decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit extended the absolute pollution exclusion to the unplanned discharge of “rock fines,” pellets produced during quarry operations, and denied coverage for...more

White and Williams LLP

Establishing Proximate Cause Where Both Roads Lead to the Defendant

White and Williams LLP on

In Westfield Ins. Group v. Pure Renovations, LLC, 2019-Ohio-4773, 2019 Ohio App. LEXIS 4829, the Court of Appeals of Ohio considered whether the lower court properly granted the defendant’s summary judgment motion. In its...more

Pillsbury - Policyholder Pulse blog

A Recent “Event” in Wisconsin: Appellate Court Rules That a Commonly Used London Market “Occurrence” Definition Is Ambiguous

In recent years, Wisconsin generally has been a pro-policyholder jurisdiction when it comes to long-tail environmental coverage cases. That trend continues with a decision by a Wisconsin appellate court in a case involving...more

White and Williams LLP

PTSD May Be Covered As “Bodily Injury” If It Resulted From Physical Injuries, Pennsylvania Appeals Court Holds

White and Williams LLP on

It has long been the rule in Pennsylvania that a mental or psychological injury generally does not constitute “bodily injury,” as defined in most standard insurance policies, unless that mental or psychological injury results...more

White and Williams LLP

Delaware Supreme Court Applies Plain Meaning of Insurance Policy Language to Reverse $48 Million Defense Cost Award

White and Williams LLP on

An unbroken sequence of Delaware trial court decisions have reflected strong pro-policyholder leaning in insurance cases in furtherance of the state’s pro-business model. Following the most recent of these pro-policyholder...more

Pillsbury - Policyholder Pulse blog

Federal Appeals Court Punishes Policyholder for Giving Too Much Notice

When a company receives a claim or lawsuit, it is critical to provide timely notice to its insurers. But when the claim is first made, sufficient facts may not yet be known to indicate which policy will respond. Many policies...more

Farella Braun + Martel LLP

Damages for Permit Revocation Constitute Covered “Loss of Use”

Insurers often claim “economic damages” are not covered under a standard commercial general liability (CGL) policy. The Fourth District Court of Appeal’s decision in Thee Sombrero, Inc. v. Scottsdale Ins. Co., 28 Cal. App....more

Cozen O'Connor

Quite The Split: Louisiana Third Circuit Court of Appeal Applies Ten-Year Prescriptive Period to Contract-Based Bad Faith Claims

Cozen O'Connor on

In a surprising decision on rehearing, on February 4, 2019, a panel of the Louisiana Third Circuit Court of Appeal reversed itself and held that bad faith claims arising out an insurance contract are subject to a ten-year...more

Butler Snow LLP

Contracts May “Legally” Obligate a Party to Pay, Even Without a Court Judgment

Butler Snow LLP on

Time and again, courts have been tasked with construing ambiguous and inconsistent terms in contracts. Recently, the Sixth Circuit revisited the issue of interpreting contractual language in Dark Horse Express, LLC v. Lancer...more

Jaburg Wilk

Arizona Court of Appeals Holds Anti-Stacking Provision Inapplicable in Policies Issued by "Affiliated Insurers"

Jaburg Wilk on

The Holding - In Hanfelder v. Geico Indem. Co., WL 2018 WL 2315949 (May 22, 2018), the Arizona Court of Appeals reversed summary judgment granted to an Insurer because the Policy’s “imprecise” anti-stacking language did...more

Carlton Fields

Dot The I’s And Cross The T’s: The Importance Of Clarity In Claim Communications And The Availability Of Punitive Damages For An...

Carlton Fields on

The Georgia Court of Appeals recently made waves in Hughes v. First Acceptance Insurance Company of Georgia, Inc., 343 Ga. App. 693 (2017). First, it aggrandized the role of a jury in determining the existence of an offer to...more

Robinson+Cole Property Insurance Coverage...

Florida Sinkhole Statute And Recovery Of Attorneys’ Fees Without Bad Faith: Florida Supreme Court Reverses The 5th DCA And...

In Johnson v. Omega Ins. Co., 2016 Fla. LEXIS 2148 (Sept. 29, 2016), the Florida Supreme Court determined that the 5th DCA misapplied and misinterpreted two statutes, the first providing a presumption of correctness to the...more

Carlton Fields

Third Circuit Reverses Equitable Estoppel Ruling Compelling Arbitration Against Non-Signatory Insurer

Carlton Fields on

The trial court had granted the motion to compel arbitration of Flintkote Company against one of its asbestos liability insurers, Aviva PLC, despite the fact that Aviva was a non-signatory to the subject Alternative Dispute...more

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