The West Virginia Supreme Court holds that when the insurance company is fulfilling its duty to defend, courts had no jurisdiction to adjudicate the bad faith claim.In State ex rel. Universal Underwriters Ins. Co. v. Wilson, 801 S.E.2d 216 (W.V. 217) the Supreme Court...
In Minnesota insurers are entitled to rescind their insurance policy when an application contains a material misrepresentation that increases the risk of loss. In National Credit Union Administration Board v. Cumis Insurance Society, Inc., 241 F.Supp.3d 934 (D. Minn....
In Brockway v. Allstate Property & Casualty Insurance Co., 284 Or. App. 83, 391 P.3d 871 (2017) the Oregon Court of Appeals upheld a suit limitation clause in Allstate's policy thereby upholding the dismissal of the insured's claim against Allstate. The Brockway...
In Estate of Mason v. Amica Mutual Insurance Co., 158 A.3d 495 (2017) the Maine Supreme Judicial Court found that where a driver is authorized to use another's car as if it was her own, pending repair of her vehicle, the borrowed car was available for regular use and...
In Faber v. McVay, 155 A.3d 153 (R.I. March 8, 2017) the Rhode Island Supreme Court held that an insurance agent malpractice claim was untimely because it was not filed within three years after the date upon which the plaintiff knew or should have known of the agent's...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...