Merrick vs. The Paul Revere Life Insurance Company, et al
Year: 2008
Court: U.S. Court of Appeals, 9th Circuit
Case Number: 08-17742
Issue:
  • Punitive damage award that only slap an insurer on the wrist will fail to deter reprehensible behavior.
State:
  • Nevada

In situations where insurers ignore the law and abandon the principles of good faith and fair dealing in a persistent manner, meaningful punitive damage awards are justified to temper the behavior of a member of this quasi-public industry. A punitive damage award must be sufficient…
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…
Medical Society of the State of New York vs. Serio, Gregory
Year: 2001
Court: New York State Supreme Court
Case Number: 116519/01
Issue:
  • Limitation of time to bring claim
State:
  • New York

UP supported the challenge to a regulation shortening the amount of time injured parties have in which to bring an insurance claim.
Medallion Industries, Inc. vs. Atlantic Mutual Insurance Company
Year: 1996
Court: U.S. Court of Appeals, 9th Circuit
Case Number: 97-35317
Issue:
  • Doctrine of insurability
State:
  • Oregon

Doctrine of insurability; Discrimination; accident.
McKendry, Steven vs. General American Life Insurance Company
Year: 2000
Court: U.S. District Court, Arizona
Case Number: CV 96-0754-PHX-PGR
Issue:
  • Confidentiality of internal documents
State:
  • Arizona

UP sought to intervene in an action to unseal exhibits that demonstrated Paul Revere’s motives to deny claims. UP was allowed to intervene but Court would not unseal documents. UP appeared with Consumer Action and the Insurance Company Accountability Network.
Mathis vs. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company
Year: 1998
Court: U.S. Court of Appeals, 9th Circuit
Case Number: 98-36001
Issue:
  • Bad Faith
State:
  • Washington

Court should unequivocally declare that the termination of an insurance company employee for refusal to engage in bad faith conduct contravenes a clear mandate of public policy and subjects the insurance company employer to liability in tort for wrongful discharge.
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.
Maremont Corporation vs. Chesire, Edward William
Year: 1995
Court: Illinois Appellate Court, 1st District, Division 3
Case Number: 96-0146
Issue:
  • Pollution Exclusion and Coverages
State:
  • Illinois

Estoppel; inconsistent coverage positions; public policy; clean-up costs as damages.
Loyal Crownover vs. Traveler’s Casualty & Surety
Year: 2002
Court: Nevada Supreme Court
Case Number: Docket No. 40234
Issue:
  • Exclusions
State:
  • Nevada

Exclusions in a policy cannot be buried in the boilerplate verbiage of the grant of coverage. In this policy the promise of a defense under these circumstances was clear and invoked the insurer’s duty to defend.
Lockheed Corporation vs. Continental Insurance Company
Year: 2004
Court: 137 Cal. App. 4th 187
Case Number:
Issue:
  • Environmental liability
  • Reasonable Expectations of Coverage
State:
  • United States

Interpretation of the personal injury liability (“PIL”) coverage provision in comprehensive general liability policies and its application to environmental liability. Long standing positions taken by the insurance industry flatly contracts the current position of the industry that violation or infringement of property or contract rights…
LM Ericsson Telefon AB and Ericsson Inc. vs. Certain Underwriters At Lloyd’s London
Year: 2008
Court: Texas Supreme Court
Case Number: 09-0012, 09-0013
Issue:
  • Application as part of policy
State:
  • Texas

This case addresses what it means when an insurance contract incorporates and makes the insured’s policy application a part of the policy of insurance. In 2003, Ericsson Inc. submitted an application for errors and omissions liability insurance, which named its parent company, LM Ericsson Telefon,…
Lititz Mutual Insurance Company vs. Steely
Year: 1999
Court: Pennsylvania Supreme Court, Middle District
Case Number:
Issue:
  • Pollution Exclusion and Coverages
State:
  • Pennsylvania

Reasonable expectations; “absolute” pollution exclusion.
Liristis, Carla et al vs. American Family Mutual Insurance Company
Year: 2000
Court: Arizona Court of Appeals, Division 1
Case Number: 1 CA-CV 00-0539 (Maricopa County Superior Court Cause No. CV 99-007046)
Issue:
  • Mold
State:
  • Arizona

The cost of removing mold should be covered if the mold occurred because of a covered loss.
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
Larsen Oil Company v. Federated Service Insurance Company
Year: 1998
Court: U.S. Court of Appeals, 9th Circuit
Case Number: No. 94-35891
Issue:
  • Pollution Exclusion and Coverages
State:
  • Oregon
Landry et al. vs. Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corporation
Year: 2007
Court: Louisiana Supreme Court
Case Number: Docket No. 2007-C-1908
Issue:
  • Katrina
  • Value Policy Law
State:
  • Louisiana

Value Policy Law requires the insurer to make full payment to the insureds regardless that the total loss was a result of a combination of covered and excluded perils under the insurance policy so long as the efficient proximate cause of the loss was a…
Labarre, Ann M. et al vs. Credit Acceptance Corporation
Year: 1999
Court: U.S. Court of Appeals, 8th Circuit
Case Number: 9803097
Issue:
  • RICO
State:
  • Minnesota

Case applying Minnesota law. RICO assists and does not impair the stats in their battles against insurance company fraud. RICO does not conflict with Minnesota’s regulatory system. Policyholders must be allowed to pursue all other non-I insurance common law and statutory remedies.