In State Farm Mutual Auto. Ins. Co. v. Jakubowicz, 56 N.E.3d 617 (Ind. 2016) the Supreme Court of Indiana struck down State Farm's suit limitation clause in its UIM policy which imposed a three-year deadline for pursuing UIM benefits because it conflicted with the...
Insurance Law
The 11th Circuit Court Of Appeals, Interpreting Georgia Law, Recently Enforced A UIM Excess Policy Exhaustion Requirement In Disallowing A UIM Claim
The 11th Circuit held in Coker v. American Guarantee and Liability Insurance Co., 825 F.3d 1287 (11th Cir. 2016), interpreting Georgia law, that Georgia's UIM statute did not transform excess UIM policies into primary UIM policies.The court found that Georgia's...
Wisconsin Supreme Court Weighs In On The “Made Whole” Doctrine In Subrogation Cases
The Wisconsin Supreme Court in Dufour v. Progressive Classic Insurance Co., 881 N.W.2d 678 (Wis. 2016) held that insurance companies may retain funds obtained as subrogation for payments that the insurer had previously made, even though the insured may not have been...
Excess Other Insurance Clause Struck Down By 5th Circuit Court Of Appeals
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit recently held, interpreting Mississippi law, that a policy's excess other insurance clause in a policy issued to an alumni association was mutually repugnant with the other insurance clause in the University's policy.In...
Utah Court Of Appeals Rules That Homeowner Policy Did Not Cover Water Infiltration Caused By Storm When The Water Entered Into The Property Through A Partially Completed Roof
In Poulsen v. Farmers Insurance Exchange, 26 UT App. 170 (2016) the court found that Farmers' homeowners policy did not provide coverage for water intrusion from a wind storm when the water entered into the house through a partially completed roof. The roof contained...
Covenant Judgment Settlements In Washington Do Not Automatically Constitute A Waiver Of Attorney-Client Privilege And Work Product Protection When The Insured’s Claims For Bad Faith Against The Insurer Are Assigned To The Adverse Party
In Steel v. Philadelphia Indemnity Co., 381 P.3d 111 (2016), a daycare center employee was convicted of child rape and child molestation while working at a daycare center. The parents brought a negligence action against the center. The daycare center had $1 million in...
Timely Offering Policy Limits Does Not Immunize Insurer From Bad Faith Exposure
The California Supreme Court in Barickman v. Mercury Casualty Co., 2 Cal. App. 5th 508 (2nd Dist. 2016) held that the insurance carrier was liable for bad faith failure to settle, notwithstanding the fact that the carrier offered its policy limits to the claimants in...
7th Circuit Finds that Extrinsic Evidence is Admissible in a Declaratory Judgment Action to Determine the Carrier’s Duty to Defend
In Landmark American Insurance Co. v. Hilger, 838 F.3d 821 (7th Cir. 2016) the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit found that the insurance company was allowed to offer evidence outside the underlying court complaints and that the defendant did not...
California Court of Appeals Fixes Punitive Damage Ratio and Bad Faith Cases
Historically the United States Supreme Court has admonished trial courts with the high court's observation that "few awards exceeding a single-digit ratio between punitive and compensatory damages, to a significant degree, will satisfy due process." State Farm Mut...
MISSOURI HIGH COURT CALCULATES UIM ATTACHMENT POINT
The Missouri Supreme Court in Swadley v. Shelter Mutual Insurance Co., 513 S.W.3d 355 (Mo. 2017) held that UIM coverage did not apply when the underinsured motorist had liability coverage limits greater than the insured's underinsured motorist limits. Previously, the...