Ballard vs. Farmers Insurance Group
Year: 2001
Court: Texas Court of Appeals
Case Number:
Issue:
  • Bad Faith
State:
  • Texas

Insurance nullification by litigation; bad faith
Avery, Michael E. et al. vs. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company
Year: 2004
Court: Illinois Supreme Court
Case Number: 91494
Issue:
  • Unfair Trade Practices
State:
  • Illinois

Insurers should not be able to use after market parts when policy calls for restoring vehicle to pre-loss condition. Class actions are the most judicially efficient method of resolving such unfair practices. McCarran Ferguson does not pre-empt a state’s ability to regulate such conduct. UPdate…
AstenJohnson Inc. vs. Columbia Casualty Company and Fireman’s Fund Insurance Companies
Year: 2007
Court: U.S. Court of Appeals, 3rd Circuit
Case Number: 07-2305
Issue:
  • Asbestos
State:
  • Pennsylvania

Policyholders should have the right to select the policies under which they seek coverage, without fear of prejudice to any Laches or Course of Performance Argument. Courts should not hamstring a policyholder’s efforts to obtain evidence of custom and usage in the insurance industry, particularly…
A-One Oil Company vs. The Massachusetts Bay Insurance Company
Year: 1997
Court: New York State Court of Appeals
Case Number: 95-4397
Issue:
  • Pollution Exclusion and Coverages
State:
  • New York

Insurance company should not be able to avoid its duty to defend and indemnify based on a pollution exclusion when damage sustained was result of replacement of an old heater in a private residence. Exclusion, as applied does not meet reasonable expectations of insured.
Anderson, Thomas vs. Allstate Insurance Company
Year: 2000
Court: U.S. Court of Appeals, 9th Circuit
Case Number: 01-15145, 01-15246, 01-15307 & 01-15330
Issue:
  • Mold
State:
  • California

Insurer cannot use toxic mold protection act to shield itself from bad faith liability in a claim regarding remediation of mold. /thorough investigation/legal treatises.
American Standard Insurance Company of Wisconsin, et al. vs. Honorable John E. Davis, Ballesteros, L&A, Real Parties in Interest
Year: 2007
Court: Arizona Supreme Court
Case Number: Case No. CV 08-0233-SA
Issue:
  • Auto insurance
State:
  • Arizona

Whether form in Spanish should be given to a Spanish speaker. When there are multiple forms available to insurance companies, as is the case here, the option to use one or the other should be made by the insured, not by the insurance company. Giving…
American Names Association Inc. vs. New York State Department of Insurance
Year: 2001
Court: Supreme Court of the State of New York
Case Number:
Issue:
  • Foreign Insurer
State:
  • New York

The need for a foreign insurer (Lloyds) to be licensed in New York State.
American Insurance Association vs. Garamendi
Year: 2003
Court: California Court of Appeal, 3rd District
Case Number: 45000
Issue:
  • "Use it and Lose it"
  • Claims and Cancellation
State:
  • California

Attempt to stop insurer’s from engaging in the practice know as “Use it and lose it.”
American Home Assurance Company vs. International Insurance Company & National Casualty Company
Year: 1996
Court: New York State Court of Appeals
Case Number: 12679/91, 20741/90
Issue:
  • Late notice
State:
  • New York
Allstate Indemnity Company, Allstate Insurance Company & Paul Cobb v. Ruiz, Joaquin and Paulina
Year: 2000
Court: Florida Supreme Court
Case Number: SC-01-893
Issue:
  • Claims Handling Rules and Regulations
  • Right to Obtain a Copy of Insurance Policy
State:
  • Florida

Policyholders should be able to obtain copies of insurer’s claim files in litigation involving coverage dispute. /duty of good faith and fair dealing
AllAmerica Financial Corporation, SMA Financial Corporation, et al. vs. Certain Underwriters at Lloyd’s London
Year: 2006
Court: Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
Case Number: SJC-09834
Issue:
  • Excess Insurance
State:
  • Massachusetts

The Court requested submission of an amicus curiae brief on the issue of “whether an excess insurer, having provided a follow-form excess insurance policy, is bound by the primary insurer’s determination of the primary policy’s applicability in the settlement of a class action suit that…
Aircraft Holdings, LLC vs. XL Specialty Insurance Company
Year: 2005
Court: Florida Supreme Court
Case Number: SC06-1303
Issue:
  • Attorney Client Privilege
State:
  • Florida

In a first-party action brought pursuant to Section 624.155, the attorney-client privilege does not bar production of attorney-client communications generated during the claim investigation and underlying coverage action which are relevant to the issue of whether the company evaluated the claim in good faith. Attorney-client…
AICCO, Inc. vs. INA Financial Corporation
Year: 2000
Court: California Court of Appeal, 1st District, Division 5
Case Number: A092096
Issue:
  • Corporate Restructuring - Assignment of Liabilities
State:
  • California

An insurance company cannot avoid coverage in a class policies simply restructuring itself and assigning its liabilities to another company without first obtaining the consent of its policyholders.
Aerojet-General Corporation vs. Transport Indemnity Insurance Company
Year: 1996
Court: California Supreme Court
Case Number: S054501
Issue:
  • Allocation
State:
  • California

Insurance companies should not be allowed to profit from inconsistent coverage positions. / Allocation
Advanced Environmental Recycling Technologies, Inc. vs. American International Speciality Lines Insurance Company
Year: 2009
Court: U.S. Court of Appeals, 5th Circuit
Case Number: 09-11075
Issue:
State:
  • Texas

This appeal addresses two issues of importance to policyholders across the country: (1) can “property damage” to the insured’s “product” be considered an “accident” or “occurrence” for purposes of coverage under an umbrella liability policy; and (2) do exclusions in an underlying primary policy apply…
Chauvin vs. State Farm Fire and Casualty Company, et al.
Year: 2005
Court: U.S. District Court, Louisiana Eastern District
Case Number: Civil Action 05-6454 c/w 06-0177
Issue:
  • Anti-Concurrent Causation Clause
  • Katrina
  • Value Policy Law
State:
  • Louisiana

The Court must reject State Farm’s untenable and unsupported suggested interpretation of the VPL which, in effect, seeks to render the VPL inapplicable to situations where a covered peril and a non-covered peril were each involved in the total loss to a covered property. The…
Chateau Chamberay Homeowners Association v. Associated International Insurance Co.
Year: 2000
Court: California Court of Appeal, 2nd District, Division 3
Case Number: B137320
Issue:
  • Bad Faith
State:
  • California

Insurance companies should not be allowed to escape liability simply by hiring an expert. As a matter of law, the insurance company must conduct a fair and thorough investigation or whether or not it has acted in bad faith is a question of fact, and…
Cello-Foil Products, Inc. vs. Michigan Mutual Liability Company
Year: 1996
Court: Michigan Supreme Court
Case Number: 104107, 105981, 106678
Issue:
  • First manifest-environmental damage
State:
  • Michigan

In a policy involving environmental damage which actually took place over many years and spanning multiple insurance policy periods, coverage should not be limited only to insurance policies in effect at the time the property damage is discovered or “first manifests.”