In Los Angeles Unified School District v. Safety National Casualty Corp., 13 Cal.App. 5th 471, 220 Cal.Rptr.3d 546 (2nd Dist. 2017) the court held that California Code of Civil Procedure §1281.2(c) was not preempted by the Federal Arbitration Act. See 9 U.S.C. §1....
Firm News
8TH CIRCUIT COURT OF APPEALS, INTERPRETING MINNESOTA LAW, FINDS THAT CARBON MONOXIDE IS A POLLUTANT FOR PURPOSES OF THE APPLICATION OF A POLLUTION EXCLUSION
In Travelers Property Casualty Co. of America v. Klick, 867 F.3d 989 (8th Cir. 2017) the 8th Circuit held, under Minnesota law, that carbon monoxide was a pollutant for purposes of a policy's pollution exclusion. The pollution exclusion in question required the...
ALLOCATING BETWEEN COVERED AND UNCOVERED CLAIMS IN MINNESOTA
The U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals, interpreting Minnesota law, recently determined that the insured had the burden of allocating a settlement between covered and uncovered claims.In United Health Group, Inc. v. Executive Risk Specialty Ins. Co., 870 F.3d 856 (8th...
NEVADA SUPREME COURT WEIGHS IN ON CANCELLATION
Recently, the Nevada Supreme Court in O.P.H. of Law Vegas, Inc. v. Oregon Mut. Ins. Co.,401 P.3d 218 (Nev. 2017) found that a cancellation notice needed to comply with the statutory requirement of giving the policyholder information about its rights to request...
CONNECTICUT COURT FINDS THAT LOSS OF CONSORTIUM CLAIMS FALL WITHIN THE “PER PERSON” LIMIT OF THE AUTO POLICY
In Amica Mut. Ins. Co. v. Piquette, 176 Conn.App. 559, 168 A.3d 623 (2017) the Connecticut Appellate Court reaffirmed Connecticut law, finding that loss of consortium claims are subject to the automobile policy's same "per person" limit that was available to the...
BARKING UP THE WRONG TREE FOR AUTO COVERAGE
The Maine Supreme Judicial Court in Kelley v. North East Insurance Co., 2017 ME. 166, ____ A.3d _____2017, 2017 WL 3138209 (Me. July 25, 2017) considered whether a dog bite incident involving the insured's dog was covered under the insured's automobile liability...
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...
Insured Must Obtain Settlement Consent Where Policies Require it
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...
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...