California
Kazi, Zubair and Khatija vs. State Farm Fire and Casualty Company
Year: 1999
Court: California Supreme Court
Case Number: B089804
Issue:
  • Property Damage
State:
  • California

An easement must be considered tangible property and injury there from must be covered under “property damage.”
Julian vs. Hartford Underwriters Insurance Company
Year: 2005
Court: California Supreme Court
Case Number: S109735
Issue:
  • Efficient Proximate Cause/Predominant Cause
  • Proximate Cause/Concurrent Causation
State:
  • California

UP took the position that the scope of landslide exclusion should not encompass damage from a tree that crashed into a home. In other words, for cases involving multiple perils (perhaps one covered and one not) insurers should not be allowed to “unwind” the “predominant…
Johnson, Greg et al. vs. Ford Motor Company
Year: 2004
Court: California Supreme Court
Case Number: S121723
Issue:
  • Punitive Damages
State:
  • California

The permissible ratio of punitive to compensatory damages after Campbell should not be limited to a bright line ratio.
Insurance Commissioner of CA vs. Golden Eagle Insurance Company
Year: 2003
Court: California Court of Appeal, 1st District, Division 3
Case Number: A104076
Issue:
  • Pollution Exclusion and Coverages
State:
  • California
Medina v. Safe-Guard Products International, Inc.
Year: 2007
Court: California Court of Appeal, 4th District, Division 3
Case Number: G038816
Issue:
  • Letter Brief Request for Depublication; B & P17200 case dealing with Unlicensed Insurers.
State:
  • California

Publication threatens to undermine the enforcement of California’s insurance licensing laws in two ways: 1) purchasing unlicensed insurance does not constitute “injury fact” a necessary perquisite for standing for private plaintiffs to bring a lawsuit under Business and Professions Code section 17200. This would, in…
Medill vs. Westport Insurance Corporation
Year: 2006
Court: California Supreme Court
Case Number: Second District Case Nos: B17007 & B182442
Issue:
  • D & O Liability
State:
  • California

Volunteer Board of Directors should be covered under D & O policy and the Court should not so broadly construe the exclusion for breach of contract so as to apply to tort claims because the lawsuit remotely related to the corporation’s breach of its bond…
Marselis, Anne vs. Allstate Insurance Company
Year: 2003
Court: California Court of Appeal, 2nd District, Division 3
Case Number: A100860
Issue:
  • Statute of Limitations
State:
  • California

Because it did not rely on the statute of limitations in denying the claim, Allstate should be estopped from raising it as an affirmative defense in a bad faith lawsuit filed against it by its policyholder.
Lebas Fashion Imports of USA vs. ITT Hartford Insurance Group
Year: 1995
Court: California Court of Appeal, 2nd District
Case Number: B083983
Issue:
  • Advertising Injury
  • Estoppel
State:
  • California
Paul Revere Life Insurance Company vs. Taylor
Year: 2003
Court: U.S. District Court, California Northern District
Case Number: C99-21104JF
Issue:
  • Reservation of Rights
State:
  • California

Paul Revere must expressly inform its policyholder that it is reserving its right to exercise its discretion in making a disability determination.
Patrick, Patricia v. UNUM
Year: 2000
Court: California Supreme Court
Case Number: S098602
Issue:
  • ERISA
State:
  • California

The scope of ERISA preemption should not be extended beyond congress’ intent and should not be allowed to preempt first party insurer bad faith tort claims.
Padilla Construction Company, Inc., v. Transportation Insurance Company
Year: 2006
Court: California Court of Appeal, 4th District, Division 3
Case Number: G036451
Issue:
  • Duty to Defend
State:
  • California

Request for modification of previous decision. The CGL policies at issue potentially cover all damages because of the property damage alleged in the Padilla lawsuit, including property damage that may have occurred prior to inception of the Stage 4 Primary Insurer’s policies. Therefore, the Padilla…
Old United Insurance Company, dba Vantage Casualty Company vs. Buhrman, Don
Year: 2005
Court: California Court of Appeal, 4th District, Division 2
Case Number: E039995
Issue:
  • Arbitration
  • Tort Damages
State:
  • California

UP argued that the policy at issue contained a compulsory arbitration clause which Insurance Company ignored, forcing insured to incur expenses for litigation as well as loss of time. Under these circumstances, damages for breach of contract are insufficient. Only a tort rationale will provide…
Nieto, Julie vs. Blue Shield of California Life & Health Insurance Company
Year: 2009
Court: California Supreme Court
Case Number: B214669
Issue:
  • Post Claims Underwriting
State:
  • California

If the Court of Appeal decision cannot be reconciled with California public policy and is inconsistent with all other California authority, which has strongly condemned unlawful post claims underwriting.
Neil, Jonathan & Associates vs. Jones et al.
Year: 2002
Court:
Case Number:
Issue:
  • Tort Damages
State:
  • California

Request for Depublication. Court held that the plaintiff could not state a cause of action for bad faith for the failure to settle claims against him because the conduct in question did not involve the payment of claims by the insured or the failure to…
Morris, Martin vs. Paul Revere Life Insurance Company
Year: 2002
Court: California Court of Appeal, 4th District
Case Number: G030567
Issue:
  • Bad Faith
State:
  • California

Request for depublication of opinion which held that bad faith liability cannot be imposed upon an insurer as a matter of law where there are uncertainties in controlling case law even if the insurer is wrong on the law.
Meyer vs. Sprint Spectrum L.P.
Year: 2008
Court: California Supreme Court
Case Number: S153846
Issue:
  • Consumers Legal Remedies Act should include insurance
State:
  • California

Petition for Rehearing urging the Court to revisit its decision holding that the Consumers Legal Remedies Act, Civil Code section 1770 e seg (“CLRA”) does not authorize peremptory challenges to provisions in an agreement to foreclose the public civil justice system (e.g., through arbitration) and…
Metz, John v. Superior Court of California
Year: 2003
Court: California Court of Appeal, 2nd District
Case Number: B175073
Issue:
  • Relief under insurance code 1871.7; Deputize private citizens
State:
  • California

UP supports relief under section 1871.7 which deputizes private citizens to act on behalf of the state claiming that Farmers Insurance Co. makes misrepresentations in its handling of private passenger vehicle physical damage claims and in the sale and marketing of its private passenger vehicle…
Rocky Cola Café vs. Golden Eagle
Year: 2002
Court: California Supreme Court
Case Number: S117935
Issue:
  • Duty to Defend
State:
  • California

There is no authority for an insurer who provides a litigation defense to seek TOTAL reimbursement of all funds on grounds that it never had a duty to defend in the first place.