A divided Ohio Supreme Court recently held that in lawsuits brought against insurance agents for negligent failure to procure insurance, the statute of limitations in Ohio begins to run when the policy is issued. In LGR Realty, Inc. v. Frank & London Ins. Agency,...
Year: 2021
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...
OHIO SUPREME COURT DETERMINES THE ACCRUAL OF THE STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS FOR FAILURE TO PROCURE INSURANCE CASES BROUGHT AGAINST AGENTS
A divided Ohio Supreme Court recently held that in lawsuits brought against insurance agents for negligent failure to procure insurance, the statute of limitations in Ohio begins to run when the policy is issued. In LGR Realty, Inc. v. Frank & London Ins. Agency,...
RHODE ISLAND SUPREME COURT ENFORCES SUIT LIMITATION PROVISION IN POLICY
In the past, Rhode Island courts have upheld insurance policy provisions that require insureds to commence legal action against the insurance company within a time period that is less than the legislatively-enacted statute of limitations. See, e.g., National...
Taxable Cost Award Capped by Insurance Policy Limits According to the Minnesota Supreme Court
Under Minn. Stat. §604.18, insureds are entitled to recover taxable costs when an insurance company unreasonably denies insurance benefits. The statute provides a remedy of one-half of the “proceeds awarded” that are in excess of an amount offered by the insurer or...
USE OF EMPLOYER’S VEHICLE WHILE INTOXICATED DID NOT EXCEED SCOPE OF PERMISSIVE USE
Recently the United States 11th Circuit Court of Appeals held, in Great American Alliance Insurance Co. v. Anderson 847 F.3d. 1327 (11th Cir. 2017) that an employee did not go beyond the scope of the employer’s permissive use of a company vehicle when the employee...
MASSACHUSETTS BAD FAITH STATUTE DOES NOT INCLUDE PRE-JUDGMENT INTEREST IN THE MULTIPLIER
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court held in Anderson v. National Union Fire Insurance Co. Pittsburgh, PA 476 Mass. 377, 67 N.E. 3d 1232 (2017) that post-judgment interest on a judgment against a driver and owner were not part of the damages to be trebled under...
FAILURE TO KEEP IME DOCTOR UPDATED ON PLAINTIFF’S CONDITION CAN FORECLOSE APPLICATION OF GENUINE DISPUTE DOCTRINE FOR MSJ PURPOSES
California courts have adopted the Genuine Dispute Doctrine. Chateau Chamberay Homeowners Assn v. Associated Internat. Ins. Co., (2001) 90 Cal. App. 4th 335, 347, 108 Cal. Rptr. 2d 776 (“[A]n insurer denying or delaying the payment of policy benefits due to the...
IN ILLINOIS 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...
INSURANCE POLICY’S INSURING CLAUSE LANGUAGE FORECLOSES PUNITIVE DAMAGE COVERAGE IN THE FIRST INSTANCE
In Farmers Texas Cty. Mut. Ins. Co. v. Zuniga, 548 S.W.3d 646 (Tex. App. 2017), the Court found that the specific language of an automobile liability policy’s insuring agreement precluded coverage for punitive damages in the first instance. The language in the...