Where insurance policies require written consent from the insurer to enter into any settlement agreement, it is important to remember to ask, "May I?" Failure to do so may void coverage. That is what occurred recently in One West Bank, FSB v. Houston Casualty Co., 676...
Month: May 2018
Disparagement is not “Patent Pending”
Some insurance policies do not specifically define the term "disparagement" in the policy. When the term "disparagement" is not defined, the courts will come up with a workable definition. As an example, in Lexmark International, Inc. v. Transportation Insurance Co.,...
Washington Court Rules On Discoverability Of Insurer’s Claim File By Third Parties
In 2013 the Washington Supreme Court found that an insurance company's claim file was presumptively not privileged in disputes between insurance companies and their insureds unless the insurance company could demonstrate that the attorney-client aspects of the file...
TERMITE DAMAGE IS NOT THE FUNCTIONAL EQUIVALENT OF BUILDING COLLAPSE FOR PURPOSES OF FIRST-PARTY PROPERTY COVERAGE
The Kentucky Supreme Court recently found that the insurance company's homeowners policy did not cover termite damage that did not result in the home's collapse. In Thiel v. Kentucky Growers Insurance Co., 522 S.W.3d 198 (2017) the court concluded that the insured...
“MAY I?”
Where insurance policies require written consent from the insurer to enter into any settlement agreement, it is important to remember to ask, "May I?" Failure to do so may void coverage. That is what occurred recently in One West Bank, FSB v. Houston Casualty Co., 676...