Diebold, Incorporated v. Continental Casualty Company
Year: 2009
Court: U.S. Court of Appeals, 3rd Circuit
Case Number: 10-3184
Issue:
  • Discovery
State:
  • New Jersey

The discovery provision at issue in this litigation is precisely the type of specific provision intended to avoid ambiguity and, therefore, uncertainty. The trial court lost sight of the provision’s intent and ignored the language in the policy by attributing discovery to something other than…
Women’s Integrated Network, Inc. v. U.S. Specialty Insurance Company
Year: 2011
Court: U.S. District Court, New York Eastern District
Case Number:
Issue:
  • Blanket holding that an Employment Practices Liability policy does not cover contractual damages.
State:
  • New York

UP addressed the Court’s blanket holding that an Employment Practices Liability insurance policy does not cover contractual damages, as this holding has broad implications for policyholders in New York and elsewhere.
MacKay v. Superior Court of Los Angeles (21st Century National)
Year: 2009
Court: California Supreme Court
Case Number: B220469
Issue:
  • Insurance rate filings
State:
  • California

UP sought to depublish the MacKay opinion on the grounds that it undermines the essential function of civil lawsuits to the law enforcement activities performed by the California Department of Insurance.
Desert Mountain Properties Limited v. Liberty Mutual Fire Insurance Company
Year: 2010
Court: Arizona Supreme Court
Case Number: CV-10-0339-PR
Issue:
  • Commercial General Liability
State:
  • Arizona

The issue is whether contract-tort distinction should apply to control coverage under a standard form commercial general liability (“CGL”) insurance policy and what is the intended scope of the contractual liability exclusion in a CGL policy.
Arceneaux, et al. v. Amstar Corp., et al.
Year: 2010
Court: Louisiana Supreme Court
Case Number: No. 2010-c-2329
Issue:
  • Duty to Defend
State:
  • Louisiana

May an insurer enforce the coverage limiting provisions of its insurance policies that it breached upon breaching its respective duties to defend and indemnify?
Villa Los Almos HOA v. State Farm General Ins. Co.
Year: 2010
Court: California Court of Appeal, 1st District, Division 4
Case Number: A128443
Issue:
  • Pollution Exclusion and Coverages
State:
  • California

This is a “total pollution exclusion” case akin to–though with significantly different facts than–the Cold Creek Compost case. In this matter, a homeowners association hired a contractor to scrape acoustic ceilings, resulting in a one-time, accidental and localized release of asbestos in and around the…
Thomas Woodhams and Charlene Connors, v. Allstate Fire and Casualty Company
Year: 2010
Court: U.S. Court of Appeals, 2nd Circuit
Case Number: 10-4389
Issue:
  • 180 day policy
State:
  • New York

Does Allstate’s 180 day policy language violate New York’s Standard Fire Policy? Is Allstate’s 180 day policy language ambiguous? UP argued that it is not reasonable to uphold language in property policies that deprives insureds of full replacement cost benefits where they cannot complete repairs/replacement…
CIGNA CORPORATION AND CIGNA PENSION PLAN, Petitioners, v. JANICE C. AMARA, GISELA R. BRODERICK, ANNETTE S. GLANZ, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated, Respondents.
Year: 2009
Court: U.S. Supreme Court
Case Number: 09-804
Issue:
  • ERISA
State:
  • United States

UP weighed in along with three other organizations to advance the position that where there is a conflict between plan documents, the one that favors plan participants should control, or, in the alternative, SPD documents. Participants should not be obliged to establish detrimental reliance, likely…
Michael McReynolds v. American Commerce Insurance Co.
Year: 2009
Court: Arizona Supreme Court
Case Number: CV-10-0288-PR
Issue:
  • Interpleader
  • The Duty of Good Faith
State:
  • Arizona

Whether an insurance company’s filing of an “interpleader” in a multiple claimant case protects the insured’s interests and fulfills the carrier’s duty of good faith. UP’s brief was written pro bono by Stanley Feldman of the Tucson, AZ firm of Haralson, Miller, Pitt, Feldman &…
Citigroup, Inc. vs. National Union Fire Insurance Co. et. al.
Year: 2009
Court: U.S. Court of Appeals, 5th Circuit
Case Number: 10-20445
Issue:
  • Primary/Excess settlements
State:
  • Texas

Whether an excess insurance carrier’s denial of coverage to a policyholder who settles with its primary insurance company for an amount below the primary insurance company’s limits violates the public policy favoring settlements?
Southern Realty Management Inc. et. al. vs. Aspen Specialty Insurance Co. et. al.
Year: 2010
Court: U.S. Court of Appeals, 11th Circuit
Case Number: 10-11513-G
Issue:
  • Post Claims Underwriting
State:
  • Georgia

Issues involve: (1) whether insurance company must be prejudiced in order for there to be material breach of the cooperation clause such that it bars coverage and (2) whether the insurance company’s denial of claim constitutes impermissible post-loss underwriting.
State of Wyoming v. Federated Services Insurance
Year: 1998
Court: U.S. Court of Appeals, 10th Circuit
Case Number: 98-8096
Issue:
  • Standing
State:
  • Wyoming
L.A. Checker Cab Coop, Inc. vs. First Specialty Insurance Co.
Year: 2009
Court: California Court of Appeal, 2nd District
Case Number: B213948
Issue:
  • Intentional Acts
State:
  • California

Whether an employer is deprived of coverage for its vicarious liability for the act of an employee if the employee acted intentionally. The Court of Appeal held that because the employee’s act was intentional, the employer could not satisfy the portion of the “occurrence” definition…
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…
Joshua Bell v. Progressive Direct Insurance Company
Year: 2013
Court: South Carolina Supreme Court
Case Number: 2011-UP-242
Issue:
  • Reasonable Expectations of Coverage
State:
  • South Carolina

UP weighed in to argue that the Court should apply the doctrine of the reasonable expectations of the insured when analyzing the parties’ positions. Mr. Bell was living with Ms. Severn and their child. Ms. Severn purchased Underinsured Motorist insurance, and Mr. Bell was subsequently…
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…
West Bend Mutual Ins. Co. v. New Packing Co. Inc.
Year: 2011
Court: Appellate Court of Illinois, First Judicial District
Case Number: No. 11-1507
Issue:
  • Vacancy Exclusion
State:
  • Illinois

Insured bought a building into which it intended to move and transfer its operations. The insured promptly added the building to its existing insurance policy, effective the date of the closing. Within the first 3 weeks of ownership, the building was vandalized on 2 occasions.…
Building Materials Corporation Of America D/B/A Gaf Materials Corporation Vs. Allstate Insurance Company, Et Al.
Year: 2011
Court: New Jersey Supreme Court
Case Number: 70413
Issue:
  • Burden of Proof
  • CGL
State:
  • New Jersey

In this case, UP sought to provide the court with policyholders’ perspectives on why an Appellate Division holding needs to be reversed. The holding relates to how a policyholder can obtain insurance coverage for the settlement of a mass tort class action which alleges both…