Does a carbon monoxide leak in a duplex apartment building constitute a single occurrence or multiple occurrences for purposes of liability insurance? This question was recently answered by the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeal in Kosnoski v. Rogers, 2014 WL...
Month: June 2021
SMOOTH SAILING FOR A POLLUTION EXCLUSION? (Reprinted from Claims Journal, October 16, 2017)
The question of whether carbon monoxide constitutes a pollutant for purposes of a standard policy pollution exclusion has been mixed among the courts. Whether carbon monoxide constitutes pollution is jurisdiction-specific and depends on whether the jurisdiction...
Failing to Initiate Settlement Negotiations is Risky Business (Reprinted from Claims Journal, November 7, 2017)
Two recent cases have addressed insurance company extracontractual exposure for failing to initiate settlement negotiations. In Stalley v. Allstate Insurance Co., 2016 WL 1752764 (M.D. Fla. April 29, 2016) the court considered the so-called “Powell rule” where the...
MASSACHUSETTS SUPREME JUDICIAL COURT FOLLOWS THE MINORITY RULE IN ESTABLISHING PRIORITY OF COVERAGE BETWEEN TRUE EXCESS POLICIES AND DE FACTO EXCESS POLICIES IN THE AUTOMOBILE LIABILITY CONTEXT
As an issue of first impression, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court adopted the minority rule on priority of coverage, holding that after a primary automobile liability policy is exhausted, true excess policies and policies that are excess by virtue of other...