California
Arshavir Iskanian v. CLS Transportation Los Angeles, LLC
Year: 2013
Court: California Supreme Court
Case Number: S204032
Issue:
  • Arbitration
  • Futility Doctrine
State:
  • California

UP filed a brief in opposition to a ruling that would allow insurance companies to take a “wait and see” approach to arbitration. In Iskanian, the court held that a company that waives its right to compel arbitration by failing to timely file the motion…
Thomas Nickerson v. Stonebridge Life Insurance Company
Year: 2012
Court: Court of Appeal of California, Second District, Division Three
Case Number: BC405280
Issue:
  • Punitive Damages
State:
  • California

United Policyholders brief opposed common laws limiting the amount of punitive damages a policyholder can recover to the amount of their standard damages multiplied by a number less than ten. Instead, UP argued that the trier of fact is in the best position to determine…
Craig Streit, et al. v. Farmers Group, Inc.
Year: 2011
Court: California Court of Appeal, Second Appellate District, Division Seven
Case Number: BC434852
Issue:
  • “Short-Rate” Premiums
  • Duty to Disclose
  • Fire Insurance
State:
  • California

UP submitted a brief in support of the Appellants, whose claim is that the insurance company violated its disclosure obligations under California Insurance Code section 381(f) by charging policyholders undisclosed “short-rate” premiums for cancellations of their insurance policy before the end of policy term. Section…
Association of California Insurance Companies et al v. Jones
Year: 2011
Court: Court of Appeal of the State of California, Second Appellate District, Division One
Case Number: B239943
Issue:
  • Agent Duty
  • Home Replacement Cost Estimating
  • Regulatory Authority
  • Underinsurance
State:
  • California

UP filed a brief with the California Court of Appeal in Association of California Insurance Companies v. Jones addressing the legality of regulations put forth by the California Department of Insurance to compel sellers of home insurance to properly estimate home replacement values when initiating…
Chubb Custom Ins. Co., et al. v. Space Systems/Loral, Inc.
Year: 2010
Court: U.S. Court of Appeals, 9th Circuit
Case Number: 11-16272
Issue:
  • CERCLA
State:
  • California

UP’s brief argued that insurers should not be allowed to recoup funds under subrogation in CERCLA cases, arguing that allowing otherwise would create the risk of a windfall gain to insurers and that the intent of CERCLA was to maximize the amount of funds available…
Stephens v. Fireman’s Fund Insurance Company
Year: 2014
Court: California Court of Appeal, First District, Division One
Case Number: A135938/A136740
Issue:
  • Insurer's Duties/Prevention
  • Replacement Cost Value
State:
  • California

Insurers owe special duties to policyholders, including the duty to communicate policy requirements and settle claims fairly. Policyholders have a reasonable expectation that their policy benefits will be paid, provided they themselves comply with the requirements of the policy. In cases where the insurer prevents…
Hartford v. Swift
Year: 2013
Court: California Supreme Court
Case Number: S207172
Issue:
  • Duty to Defend
State:
  • California

UP urged the California Supreme Court to follow the clear precedent that an insurer’s “duty to defend” extends to both direct and indirect, express and implied, disparagement claims. UP urged the Court to overturn a holding by the Court of Appeal that was inconsistent with…
Federal Insurance Co. v. MBL, Inc.
Year: 2013
Court: California Supreme Court
Case Number: H0369296 & H036578
Issue:
  • A Policyholder’s Right to Independent Counsel (“Actual” vs. “Potential” Conflicts)
  • Reservation of Rights
State:
  • California

UP’s position in its amicus brief in this case is that policyholders have a right to independent counsel in cases where the insurer has a “potential” conflict of interest as well as in cases where the insurer’s conflict is actual.. In support of this position,…
Fluor Corporation v. Superior Court of Orange County, CA. (Real Party in Interest Hartford Accident and Indemnity Co.)
Year: 2012
Court: California Supreme Court
Case Number: S205889
Issue:
  • Anti-assignment Clause
State:
  • California

This case involves an insurance company’s effort to cut off the coverage/protection rights of one of its insureds based on a clause prohibiting assignments without the insurer’s consent. The insured is a construction company that paid substantial premiums to the insurance company in return for…
Letter Opposing Request for Depublication: Ellena v. Department of Insurance
Year: 2014
Court:
Case Number:
Issue:
  • Regulatory Authority
State:
  • California

In response to the California Department of Insurance’s letter requesting republication, UP wrote in support of the published decision in Ellena v. Department of Insurance. UP argued that the decision that Department of Insurance must review approve and reject diability policy forms under statute. The…
Vandana Upadhyay v. Aetna Life Ins. Co.
Year: 2014
Court: U.S. Court of Appeals, 9th Circuit
Case Number: 14-15420
Issue:
  • ERISA
State:
  • California

In this case, the District Court held that the insured’s ERISA action was untimely under the provisions of the Long-Term Disability Plan because the contractual deadline for filing suit ended on July 1, 2010, even though the insured had a right to file her claim…
Street Surfing, LLC v. Great American E&S Ins. Co.
Year: 2014
Court: U.S. Court of Appeals, 9th Circuit
Case Number: 12-5531
Issue:
  • Commercial General Liability
  • Duty to Defend
State:
  • California

Under California law, the duty to defend is broader than the duty to indemnify. In fact, under Montrose Chem. Corp. v. Superior Court, 6 Cal. 4th 287, 300 (1993), “the insured must prove the existence of a potential for coverage, while the insurer must establish…
Thomas Nickerson v. Stonebridge Life Ins. Co.
Year: 2014
Court: California Supreme Court
Case Number: S213873
Issue:
  • Punitive Damages
State:
  • California

Punitive damages awards are subject to heightened Due Process scrutiny after the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in State Farm v. Campbell. While the Campbell ruling did not establish a bright-line rule, many state and federal courts, including California, have announced that no more than a…
California Fair Plan Association v. Marlene Garnes
Year: 2015
Court: California Court of Appeal, First Appellate District, Division Two
Case Number: A143190
Issue:
  • Loss Settlement Valuation for Actual Cash Value Policies
State:
  • California

Under the California Insurance Code, the California Fair Plan, the state’s insurer-of-last-resort, is required to, in the case of a partial loss to a policyholder’s home, pay the lesser of the cost of repair or the policy limits under an actual cash value policy. In…
Letters to California Judicial Council re: Civil Jury Instructions for Bad Faith and Insurer Defense Cost Reimbursement
Year: 2015
Court:
Case Number:
Issue:
  • Bad Faith
State:
  • California

UP submitted letters to the California Judicicial Council regarding proposed revisions to California Civil Jury Instructions (“CACI”) Nos. 2330-2337 and 2351: First, UP argued that the proposed language of CACI 2330-2337 conflates the standard for “bad faith” claim by collapsing the “unreasonably” and “without proper…
Centex Homes v. St. Paul Ins. Co.
Year: 2015
Court: California Supreme Court
Case Number: E060057
Issue:
  • Independent (Cumis) Counsel
State:
  • California

UP and the Consumer Attorneys of California submitted a letter supporting a petition for review in an important case involving a policyholder’s right to independent counsel. A policyholder’s right to independent counsel when a conflict arises between the insured and the insurer, both represented by…
Artun Vardanyan v. AMCO Ins. Co.
Year: 2015
Court: California Court of Appeal, Fifth District
Case Number: F069953
Issue:
  • Causation
  • Jury Instructions
State:
  • California

California is among a minority of states that recognize the Efficient Proximate Cause (“EPC”) doctrine. Under the EPC, when multiple perils combine to cause loss of damage to an insured property, even if one cause is excluded, if the efficient proximate cause (the most important/predominant…
Tabares et al v. Equitrust Life Ins. Co.
Year: 2015
Court: California Court of Appeal, Second District, Division Seven
Case Number: B254409
Issue:
  • Breach of Contract - Consumer Protection
  • Life Insurance - Indexed Annuities
State:
  • California

Indexed annuities are life insurance products that promise high yields for consumers. However, some of these products are sold with “premium bonuses” that in actuality tax the return of the product over time resulting in little or no net gain. Agents and brokers are paid…