State Farm Fire & Casualty Company vs. Simmons, James and Cynthia
Year: 1996
Court: Texas Supreme Court
Case Number: D-4095
Issue:
  • Punitive Damages
State:
  • Texas

UP brief supports Court of Appeals decision holding that (1) insurance company acted in bad faith; (2) the insurance company failed to show the policyholders burned their own home and (3) punitive damage award of two million was not excessive.
West American Insurance Company vs. Freeman, Mark R.
Year: 1995
Court: California Supreme Court
Case Number: S049306
Issue:
  • Bad Faith
State:
  • California

Insurance Company’s duty of good faith and fair dealing with its policyholder should continue into litigation and should not be limited to the circumstances surrounding the insurance coverage litigation.
Weiss, Richard D. vs. UnumProvident
Year: 2004
Court: U.S. Court of Appeals, 3rd Circuit
Case Number: 05-5428
Issue:
  • ERISA
State:
  • Pennsylvania

UP argued that the Supreme Court has held that RICO enforcement does not conflict with ERISA or the McCarran-Ferguson Act and that UnumProvident’s history of reprehensible bad faith claim handling, evidenced by governmental sanctions and numerous court decisions, requires that Plaintiffs be allowed their day…
Watts Industries, Inc. vs. Zurich American Insurance Company
Year: 2003
Court: California Court of Appeal, 2nd District, Division 4
Case Number: B162067 (LASC Case No. 245144 consolidated with Case No. BC 251718)
Issue:
  • Duty to Defend
State:
  • California

Insurer must offer a defense if there is a potential for coverage of any part of underlying claim.
Waters vs. United States Automobile Association
Year: 1995
Court: California Supreme Court
Case Number: BC 68468
Issue:
  • Emotional Distress
State:
  • California

Insurers duties re: property damage claims and insureds’ right to recover for emotional distress caused by bad faith conduct.
Watanabe vs. Blue Shield of California
Year: 2007
Court: California Court of Appeal, 2nd District, Division 8
Case Number: 2nd Civ. No.B 195725 (BC 324008)
Issue:
  • Bad Faith
State:
  • California

Blue Shield of California tried to shield itself from bad faith liability by claiming that Maria Watanabe’s benefits were denied by a medical group which had a contract with Blue Shield. But California law is clear: an insurer cannot delegate its implied covenant duties. The…
Wagner vs. Eire Ins.
Year: 2002
Court: Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
Case Number:
Issue:
  • Reasonable Expectations of Coverage
State:
  • Pennsylvania

Gasoline station owner’s reasonable expectation of coverage for damage caused by gasoline should control.
Vu vs. Prudential Prop. & Casualty Insurance Company
Year: 2000
Court: California Supreme Court
Case Number: S078271
Issue:
  • Statute of Limitations
State:
  • California
Village Northridge Homeowners Association vs. State Farm Fire & Casualty, et al
Year: 2007
Court: California Supreme Court
Case Number: S161008, Appellate District, Civil No. B188718
Issue:
  • Fraud in inducement to settle
State:
  • California

The question presented by the case is the following: After settling a first party claim by accepting money from and executing a release of the insurer, may an insured sue the insurer for fraud in inducing the settlement and seek to avoid the release without…
Vandenberg, John B. vs. Superior Court of the State of California
Year: 1998
Court: California Supreme Court
Case Number: S067115
Issue:
  • Coverage
State:
  • California

A coverage determination for property damage losses depends on the property itself and the nature of the risk causing the injury. Decision pertains to Commercial General Liability Policies
U.S. Underwriters Insurance Companys vs. City Club Hotel, LLC et al. and Spzakowski
Year: 2003
Court: New York State Court of Appeals
Case Number: 02- CV-07379NRB
Issue:
  • Attorney's Fees
  • Declaratory Relief
State:
  • New York

In a case in which an insurance company has brought a declaratory judgment action to determine that it does not have policy obligations but defended in the underlying suit, the insured that prevails in the dec. relief action should be awarded attorney’s fees for defending…
U.S. Test, Inc and Bobby Cobb vs. N.D.E. Environmental Corp and United Coastal Insurance
Year: 1998
Court: U.S. Court of Appeals, Federal Circuit
Case Number: 99-1087
Issue:
  • Patent Infringement
State:
  • Louisiana

Addresses the scope of “advertising injury” coverage for inducements to infringe a patent in light of 28 U.S.C. section 271(a). The Court erred in relying on the absence of the word “patent” with the offenses of “infringement of copyright, title, or slogan” to exclude coverage…
United States Fidelity and Guarantee Co. vs. United States Sports Specialty Association
Year: 2009
Court: Utah Supreme Court
Case Number: 20090657-SC
Issue:
  • Duty to Settle
State:
  • Utah

In this case an insurer went after its insured to recoup monies it had paid (over policy limits) as part of a settlement. UP argued that because the insurer had initiated the settlement and because there was no right of restitution expressly stated in the…
United States of America vs. Brennan, John
Year: 1996
Court: U.S. Court of Appeals, 2nd Circuit
Case Number: 97-1440 (L) 97-1441
Issue:
  • Duties of Insured
  • Tutorial for Court
State:
  • New York

Tutorial for Court: Fiduciary duty; “crying wolf”; purpose of insurance is to “insure”; the “sophisticated policyholder”; contra preferendum; public service nature of insurance.
United Policyholders vs. Serio, Gregory, NY State Insurance Dept
Year: 2001
Court: New York State Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Department 1
Case Number: 110971/01
Issue:
  • Cancel and annul the de facto license of Equitas to do business in NY State
State:
  • New York

Writ of Mandamus. UP requested that the New York State Insurance Department revoke, cancel and annul the de facto license of Equitas to do business in New York State.
Unigard Insurance Co. vs. The City of Lodi, California, et al
Year: 1998
Court: U.S. Court of Appeals, 9th Circuit
Case Number: 99-15802
Issue:
  • Insurance Companies are fiduciaries
State:
  • California
Uhrich vs. State Farm Fire & Casualty Co.
Year: 2002
Court: California Supreme Court
Case Number: S117639
Issue:
  • Coverage
State:
  • California

Letter Brief. A personal liability insurer cannot promise to defend and pay claims for enumerated intentional torts such as false arrest, false imprisonment, defamation, or invasion of privacy and then deny coverage because the inherently intentional quality of the insured’s act violates the policy requirement…
Tuepker, John and Clare vs. State Farm Fire and Casualty
Year: 2007
Court: U.S. District Court, Mississippi Southern District
Case Number: 06-61075 and 06-61076
Issue:
  • Anti-Concurrent Causation Clause
  • Katrina
State:
  • Mississippi

Katrina case involving the “anti-concurrent clause” language in a State Farm policy and the burden of proof regarding exclusions. UP requested that the Court uphold the District Court’s opinion finding that the “anti-concurent causation” lead-in clause does not preclude coverage and imposing the burden on…