In Nickerson v. Stonebridge Life Ins. Co., 5 Cal.App.5th 1, 209 Cal.Rptr.3d 690 (2nd Dist. 2016), the California Court of Appeals recently reduced a $19M punitive damages award in an insurance bad faith case to $475,000 applying a 10:1 ratio of compensatory damages to...
Insurance Law
CALIFORNIA COURT OF APPEALS HOLDS THAT AUTOMOBILE POLICY’S COLLISION COVERAGE DID NOT REQUIRE THE INSURANCE COMPANY TO PAY FOR THE CAR’S LOST MARKET VALUE
In Baldwin v. AAA Northern California, Nevada & Utah, 204 Cal.Rptr 3d 433 (1st Dist. 2016), the Court held that an automobile insurer had no obligation to pay the "pre-accident value" of the insured vehicle under the policy's collision coverage provision which...
THE IDAHO SUPREME COURT REFUSES TO ENFORCE UIM POLICY ANTI-STACKING PROVISIONS
The Idaho Supreme Court in Gearhart v. Mutual of Enumclaw Ins. Co., 160 Idaho 666, 378 P.3d 454 (Idaho 2016), found that a UIM anti-stacking provision was ambiguous and, therefore, unenforceable. In Gearhart, the Court considered a UIM policy's anti-stacking clause...
THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT COURT OF APPEALS CONSIDERS EXHAUSTION REQUIREMENT IN EXCESS UM LIABILITY POLICIES UNDER GEORGIA LAW. THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT UPHELD THE POLICY EXHAUSTION REQUIREMENTS
Recently, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals in Coker v. American Guar. & Liab. Ins. Co., 825 F.3d 1287 (11th Cir. 2016) (applying Georgia law) held that UM policy exhaustion requirements were enforceable under Georgia law. The Court found that Georgia's UM...
IN THE STATE OF WASHINGTON INSUREDS DO NOT WAIVE ATTORNEY-CLIENT AND WORK-PRODUCT PRIVILEGES WHEN THEY SEEK THE COURT’S APPROVAL OF A COVENANT JUDGMENT SETTLEMENT WHICH ASSIGNS TO THE ADVERSE PARTY THE INSURED’S BAD FAITH CLAIM AGAINST THE INSURER
In Steel v. Philadelphia Indemnity Ins. Co., 195 Wash.App. 811, 381 P.3d 111 (Wash. App. 2016), the Washington Court of Appeals held that insurance companies do not waive attorney-client privilege or work product protection when their insured enters into a covenant...
INSURANCE COMPANIES HAGGLING OVER RELEASE LANGUAGE CAN RESULT IN BAD FAITH LIABILITY
In Barickman v. Mercury Cas. Co., 2 Cal.App.5th 508, 206 Cal.Rptr.3d 699 (2d Dist. 2016), an insurance company's refusal to consent to additional release language which was designed to preserve the claimant's rights to receive criminal restitution from the insured...
THE WISCONSIN SUPREME COURT, IN A SPLIT DECISION, REAFFIRMED THE “FOUR-CORNERS” RULE GOVERNING A LIABILITY INSURANCE COMPANY’S DUTY TO DEFEND
The High Court confirmed that under Wisconsin Law there were no exceptions to the rule that extrinsic evidence cannot create a duty to defend.In Water Well Solutions Service Group, Inc. v. Consolidated Ins. Co., 369 Wis.2d 607, 881 N.W.2d 285 (Wis. 2016), the...
NEW YORK APPELLATE COURT REJECTS THE CREATION OF AN UNAVAILABILITY EXCEPTION TO NEW YORK’S RULE REQUIRING UNINSURED PERIODS TO BE ALLOCATED TO THE INSURED IN CONTINUOUS AND PROGRESSIVE LOSS CASES
New York Law requires insurance companies to allocate continuous, progressive losses on a pro rata basis among all triggered policies based upon a time-on-the-risk allocation model. The New York Appellate Court recently rejected an invitation to create an...
Duty to Defend Decision in the LA Supreme Court
THE LOUISIANA SUPREME COURT RECENTLY HELD THAT THE DUTY TO DEFEND IN LONG LEGACY DISEASE CASES SHOULD BE PRORATED BETWEEN THE INSURANCE COMPANY AND THE INSURED IN SITUATIONS WHERE AN OCCURRENCE-BASED POLICY PROVIDED COVERAGE FOR ONLY A PORTION OF THE TIME FOR WHICH...
NEW YORK APPELLATE COURT REJECTS THE CREATION OF AN UNAVAILABILITY EXCEPTION TO NEW YORK’S RULE REQUIRING UNINSURED PERIODS TO BE ALLOCATED TO THE INSURED IN CONTINUOUS AND PROGRESS LOSS CASES
New York law requires insurance companies to allocate continuous, progressive losses on a pro rata basis among all triggered policies based upon a time-on-the-risk allocation model. The New York Appellate Court recently rejected an invitation to create an...