The Wyoming Supreme Court in Century Surety Co. v. Jim Hipner, LLC, 2016 WY 81, 377 P.3d 784 (2016), engaged in a jurisprudential review of the enforceability of non-prejudicial notice requirements in insurance policies and why courts have moved away from the...
In American Family Mut. Ins. Co. v. Hansen, 2016 CO 46, 275 P.3d 115 (Colo. 2016), the Colorado Supreme Court found that when a discrepancy exists between the policy declarations page and an extrinsic lienholder statement regarding who was an insured, the discrepancy...
In a split decision, the Wisconsin Supreme Court in Water Well Solutions Service Group, Inc. v. Consolidated Ins. Co., 2015 WI 54, 369 Wis.2d 607, 881 N.W.2d 285 (2016), reaffirmed the "four-corners" rule governing a liability insurer's duty to defend in Wisconsin....
In RSUI Indemnity Co. v. Discovery P&C Ins. Co., 649 Fed.Appx. 534 (9th Cir. 2016), the primary insurer unreasonably had refused to pay a settlement demand within policy limits. In order to achieve a settlement, the excess insurer paid a portion of the settlement...
Florida is a testing ground for creative lawyering designed to set up insurance companies on failure to settle claims. However, in Welford v. Liberty Ins. Corp., 2016 WL 3360431 (N.D. Fla., 6/2/16), at least one Federal District Court refused to countenance yet...
The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals in Bamford, Inc. v. Regent Ins. Co., 822 F.3d 403 (8th Cir. 2016), held that the District Court had properly denied an insurance company's post-verdict motions challenging the jury's verdict in a bad faith failure to settle case and...
The Montana Supreme Court in Parker v. Safeco Ins. Co. of America, 384 Mont. 125, 2016 MT 173, 376 P.3d 114 (2016), held that an earth movement exclusion was not limited solely to damages caused by soil movement. The Court found that earth movement included damage...
In United States Fidelity & Guaranty Co. v. Fendi Adele S.R.I., 823 F.3d 146 (2nd Cir. 2016), the United States Court of Appeals held in favor of USF&G finding that USF&G's policy did not provide coverage for the legal liability of its insured for selling...
The South Carolina Court of Appeals recently held that offensive odors from sewage could be classified as fumes or gasses for purposes of a pollution exclusion. In South Carolina Ins. Reserve Fund v. East Richmond County Public Service District, 2016 WL 1125810 (S.C....
The California Court of Appeals recently held in D.Cummins Corp. v. U.S. Fidelity & Guar. Co., 246 Cal.App.4th, 201 Cal.Rptr.3d 585 (1st Dist., 2016), that a parent corporation lacked standing to sue one of its subsidiary's insurers for declaratory relief. In this...