The Colorado Supreme Court in Munoz v. American Family Mutual Insurance Co., 425 P.3d 1128 (Colo. 2018) rejected an insured's claim for prejudgment interest on an uninsured motorist settlement. In rejecting the prejudgment interest the Colorado Court looked at...
Insurance Law
TEXAS COURT OF APPEALS FINDS THAT INSURANCE COMPANY’S PAYING TIMELY TENDER OF FULL AMOUNT OF APPRAISAL AWARD PREVENTED INSURED’S RECOVERY UNDER TEXAS’ PROMPT PAYMENT OF CLAIMS STATUTE
In Marchbanks v. Liberty Ins. Corp., 558 S.W.3d 308 (Tex. App. 2018), the Texas Court of Appeals held that insureds could not recover for violations of Texas' Prompt Payment of Claims Act (Tex. Ins. Co. Ann. §542.051 et seq. (West 2013) for any type of underpayment of...
MISSOURI COURT UPHOLDS ATTORNEY-CLIENT PRIVILEGE
In State ex rel. Shelter Mut. Ins. Co. v. Wagner, 575 S.W.3d 476 (Mo. Ct. App. 2018), transfer denied (July 31, 2018), reh'g denied (July 31, 2018), the Missouri court held that in a bad faith lawsuit arising from the failure to settle, the insured was not entitled to...
Nevada Adopts Minority View That An Insurer’s Failure To Deend Can Render The Insurer Liable For An Excess Judgment Without A Finding Of Bad Faith Misconduct
In Century Surety Co. v. Andrew, 432 P.3d 180 (Nev. 2018) the Nevada Supreme Court adopted the minority view holding that the insurer's failure to defend its insured made the insurer liable for the excess judgment that was entered, even though there was no finding of...
Safeco Waives Anti-assignment Clause
Clear Vision was an automobile windshield repair company which operated inside individual auto dealership repair shops. Clear Vision's business practice was to repair a customer's windshield once the customer had signed an assignment of the right to payment to Clear...
Mississippi Rejects Blue Ridge Doctrine
In Colony Ins. Co. v. First Specialty Ins. Corp., 262 So. 3d 1128 (Miss. 2019) , the Mississippi Supreme Court, as a matter of first impression, found that a liability insurance company could not fund a settlement under a reservation of rights and then seek...
Insurance Agents Not Held Accountable For Excess Judgments Under Utah Law
The Utah Supreme Court in Espenschied Transp. Corp. v. Fleetwood Servs., Inc., 2018 UT 32, 422 P.3d 829 (Utah 2018) held that the law allowing insureds to sue their insurance companies for bad faith conduct resulting in unpaid excess judgments did not apply to...
Make Sure You Allege Mental Incomptency When Seeking a Defense in an Assault Case for There to Be a Defense Obligation
Recently, the Superior Court of Pennsylvania found that an insurer had properly denied a defense to its insured who had been sued for assault. See Kiely on Behalf of Feinstein v. Philadelphia Contributionship Ins. Co., 2019 PA Super 90 (Mar. 26, 2019). The facts...
Rhode Island Supreme Court Says That Insurance Companies Do Not Owe Third-party Claimants Any Duty To Attempt Settlement
In Summit Insurance Co. v. Stricklett, 199 A.3d 523 (R.I. 2019) the court found that the insurer did not owe a minor child pedestrian who was struck by the insured's vehicle or the child's parents any duty to attempt to settle the child's personal injury claim. The...
A Settlement Demand Is Required As A Prerequisite In A Liability Claim To The Insurer’s Duty To Settle
The Georgia Supreme Court recently held in First Acceptance Ins. Co. of Georgia, Inc. v. Hughes, 826 S.E.2d 71 (Ga. 2019) that a liability insurance company's duty to settle arose when a valid settlement demand was presented by the injured party that fell within the...