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
Aymee Taylor v. State Farm Florida Insurance Company, 5D23-0243 (5th Fla. DCA, Apr. 12, 2024) - The insured suffered water damage caused by a overflowing sink. State Farm covered the loss, and the parties participated in the...more
The newest episode of the Subro Sessions podcast, is hosted by Gus Sara, Partner, and Michael DeBona, Counsel, who are joined by guest J. Pablo Ross, PE, of Ross Engineering. The episode, entitled “Water Losses 101: A...more
The Connecticut Appellate Court recently provided guidance on what does not constitute property damage under a typical contractor’s Commercial General Liability (CGL) insurance policy in Westchester Modular Homes of Fairfield...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
The newest episode of the Subro Sessions podcast, hosted by associates, Ryan Bennett and Melissa Kenney, is entitled “Getting Control of an Accident Scene and Ensuring Evidence is Preserved.” Ryan and Melissa discuss fire...more
On June 29, 2022, Florida's Fourth District Court of Appeal issued a favorable decision for insurers, but on its face, the decision may seem to conflict with Fifth District law....more
Issues to Watch - 1. Causation—What is an insured’s burden when the claimed loss involves a mix of covered and non-covered causes? Overstreet v. Allstate Vehicle & Prop. Ins. Co., No. 21-10462, 2022 WL 1579278 (5th Cir....more
In Florida, for years, the plaintiffs’ bar has been filing first-party property law suits for ensuing water damages caused by the failure of cast-iron pipes. In those cases, in which there is no evidence of interior water...more
Does a tarp installed on top of a hotel's existing roof constitute part of the "roof" under the insured’s policy? Perhaps, according to Judge Wendy Beetlestone of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of...more
The proper trigger of coverage in construction defect disputes has been addressed on several occasions by New Jersey courts. Most notably, in Air Master & Cooling, Inc. v. Selective Insurance Company of America, 452 N.J....more
In Kanovsky v. At Your Door Self Storage (No. B297338; filed 11/25/19), a California appeals court held that a waiver of liability and agreement to self-insure in a storage container contract barred coverage for water damage...more
In Cameron v. Scottsdale Insurance Company, No. 17-11907, 2018 WL 1791889, at *1 (11th Cir. Apr. 16, 2018), the Eleventh Circuit vacated the lower court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of the insurer and relied on...more
Florida first-party property insurers have seen a dramatic rise in the number of reported water loss claims over the past five years. ...more
Typical first party property policies include provisions that address failure to maintain heat as excluded losses. The Eastern District of New York recently analyzed a specific endorsement requiring that heat be maintained at...more
The “Water Damage” exclusion incorporated in many property insurance policies is the subject of much litigation, including the scope and applicability of the “surface water” exclusion to various water damage scenarios....more
Contingency fee multipliers increase attorney fee awards substantially. The general custom in American law is that each party is responsible for his or her own attorney’s fees, regardless of the outcome of the action. See...more
In a recent opinion, Judge Schmehl of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania denied a forced placed insurer’s Motion to Dismiss a suit brought by the assignee of a homeowner for water damage to the home. In Williams v....more
Hurricane Nate made landfall on the Mississippi Gulf Coast near the city of Biloxi on Sunday, October 8, 2017, as a Category 1 Hurricane. The eastern quadrant of the storm’s center also passed over significant portions of...more
Many commercial and residential property insurance claims arising from major hurricanes like Hurricane Harvey present damage caused by multiple causes of loss, some of which may be covered (e.g., wind) and some of which may...more
455 Companies, LLC alleges that Landmark American Insurance Company breached their property insurance contract by denying a claim resulting from water damage to 455 Companies’ property. Landmark moved for partial summary...more
Frequent readers of the blog will appreciate that disputes involving the application of anti-concurrent causation language in the context of claims for flood or water damage have appeared with some frequency in recent years....more
The Florida Supreme Court recently issued a widely reported decision, Sebo v. American Home Assurance Co., which applied the concurrent cause doctrine in ruling that an all-risk homeowner’s insurance policy provides coverage...more
We have discussed on a number of occasions the issue of causation when there are multiple causes of loss, some covered and some not covered. Most jurisdictions apply what is known as the efficient proximate cause analysis...more
In a recent opinion, U.S. District Judge Sidney Fitzwater delivered the final blow to One Way Investments Inc. in its hail damage lawsuit against property insurer Century Surety Company — granting summary judgment in favor of...more