In a case of first impression under Indiana law, the Indiana Court of Appeals in Walsh Construction Co. v. Zurich, 72 N.E.3d 957 (Ind. App. 2017) held that a policy's SIR had to be exhausted by the named insured before the insurance company was obligated to defend and...
Firm News
Michigan Court Finds Earth Movement Exclusion Applicable to Man-made Earth Movement
Typical earth movement exclusions reference "any" earth movement and are generally understood to be all-encompassing. Nevertheless, courts have disagreed on whether earth movement exclusions are limited to naturally occurring earth movement as opposed to man-made...
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...
Good Samaritan Who Exits Vehicle To Assist Injured Person Still Occupies The Insured Vehicle For Um Purposes
The Rhode Island Supreme Court in Hudson v. GEICO Insurance Agency, Inc., 161 A.3d 1150 (R.I. 2017) recently held, as a matter of first impression, that a passenger riding in an insured vehicle who exited the vehicle in order to render assistance to accident victims...
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...
Minnesota Supreme Court Rules that Statutory Attorney’s Fees are Capped by the Policy Limit
The question of whether attorney's fees awarded under Minnesota's insurance unreasonable denial statute could exceed the policy limits of the policy was recently addressed by the Minnesota Supreme Court in Wilbur v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co., 892 NW2d...
Kentucky Supreme Court Establishes Priority of Coverage Positioning for UM Policies
When two or more uninsured motorist policies apply, a question arises as to whether those policies should pro-rate with each other, or one of the policies should be designated as primary, with the other as excess. This issue was addressed by the Kentucky Supreme Court...
Wyoming Adopts the Notice-Prejudice Rule
The Wyoming Supreme Court in Century Surety Co. v. Jim Hipner, LLC, 377 P.3d 784 (Wyo. 2016) adopted the notice prejudice rule. The court also found that any policy exclusion that attempted to displace the notice prejudice rule was void.
Montana Supreme Court Determines What Standard to Utilize in Approving Consent Settlement Agreements
Recently, the Montana Supreme Court, in a split decision, found that the trial court must utilize an objective standard in considering the value of the claim and the insured's loss of coverage when it determines the reasonableness of a stipulated settlement entered...
Court Finds that an Earth Movement Exclusion Included Landslides
In Parker v. Safeco Insurance Co. of America, 2016 WL 3911544 (Mont. July 19, 2016) the issue was whether damage to a vacation cabin from a large bounder that fell down a hillside and into the cabin structure was covered under the Safeco policy. Safeco's policy...