Schnitzer Steel et al v. Continental Casualty Co et al.
Year: 2015
Court: U.S. Court of Appeals. 9th Circuit
Case Number: 15-35101
Issue:
  • Attorney's Fees
  • Environmental Liabilities
State:
  • Oregon

Under Oregon law, policyholders who sue their insurance company for delaying or denying legitimate claims can recover their attorney’s fees. UP reminded the Court that Oregonians currently have few protections available to them when insurance companies refuse to honor their contractual obligations. Indeed, as Oregon…
Montanile v. Board of Trustees of the National Elevator Industry Health Plan
Year: 2015
Court: U.S. Supreme Court
Case Number: 14-723
Issue:
  • Health insurance and Social Security reimbursement under ERISA
State:
  • U.S. Supreme Court

UP weighed in because the Court’s decision could have broad-reaching implications for participants in disability plans as well as health plan participants. Most, if not all, employer-sponsored disability benefit plans coordinate benefits with other sources of disability income, the most important of which are Social…
U.S. Metals v. Liberty Mutual Group
Year: 2015
Court: Texas Supreme Court
Case Number: 14-0753
Issue:
  • Contract Interpretation - Ambiguity
  • Physical injury requirement for property coverage
State:
  • Texas

On certified question from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit, the Texas Supreme Court was confronted with the question of whether the “your product” and “impaired property” exclusions in CGL policies, are the terms “physical injury” and/or “replacement” ambiguous? UP argued, inter…
De La Fuente v. Florida Insurance Guaranty Association
Year: 2015
Court: Florida Supreme Court
Case Number: SC15-519/2D13-3543
Issue:
  • Covered claims
  • Insolvency obligations
State:
  • Florida

Under Florida law, when insurers become insolvent, the Florida Insurance Guaranty Association (“FIGA”) becomes legally obligated to pay covered claims. In cases where the policy is amended, either by the carrier or by legislative or FIGA directive, insurance money must be available when a policyholder…
Catherine Cadle v. GEICO
Year: 2015
Court: U.S. Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit
Case Number: 15-11283
Issue:
  • Bad Faith/Summary Judgment
  • Failure to Settle
State:
  • Florida

Under Florida law, whether a liability insurer has failed to settle in good faith when it could and should have settled a claim is determined under the totality of the circumstances standard, with each case determined on its own facts. Ordinarily, the question of failure…
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…
World Harvest Church v. Grange Mutual
Year: 2015
Court: Ohio Supreme Court
Case Number: 14-1161
Issue:
State:
  • Ohio

When a policyholder purchases a separate endoresment providing insurance coverage for intentional torts of employees, insurers may not disclaim coverage by using vicarious liability as a shield. Further, when an insurer has a duty to defend, it becomes liable for all damages awarded against the…
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…
Raffone et al v. First American Title Ins. Co.
Year: 2015
Court: Court of Appeal, First District
Case Number: 1D14-4791/2004-CA-78
Issue:
State:
  • Florida

Florida law imposes a non-delegable duty on title insurers to charge a lower reissue rate when a property is refinanced with clear title. UP argued in it’s brief that title insurers are sophisticated data collectors who can and should be able to locate prior owner’s…
Demetrio v. Stewart Title Insurance
Year: 2015
Court: New York Court of Appeals
Case Number: 2010/101760
Issue:
  • Contract Interpretation
State:
  • New York

A court faced with textual ambiguity may review extrinsic evidence to assist the trier of fact in ascertaining what the parties intended in entering into the contract. UP argued in its brief that an insurance company ought not to be able argue to the court,…
Zurich American Ins. Co. v. Sony
Year: 2015
Court: New York Appellate Division, Manhattan
Case Number: 651982/11
Issue:
  • Contract Interpretation
  • Data Breach/Cyber Liability
State:
  • New York

Insurance coverage for data breach should be available under a commercial general liability policy’s “publication” provision. Under New York law, coverage should be available for situations where the insured is alleged to have intentionally published material and when it negligently permits a third party to…
Kelly v. State Farm Ins. Co.
Year: 2015
Court: Louisiana Supreme Court
Case Number: 2014-CQ-1921
Issue:
  • Bad Faith
State:
  • Louisiana

On certified question from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit, the Louisiana Supreme Court was confronted with the issue of whether an insurer can be liable for statutory bad faith for failure to settle a claim when it never received a firm…
Request for Depublication: Stephens v. Fireman’s Fund
Year: 2015
Court: California Court of Appeal, First District, Division One
Case Number: A135938; A136740
Issue:
  • Replacement Cost Value
  • Tort v. Contract Damages
State:
  • California

UP submitted this letter requesting depublication of the decision in Stephens & Stephens XII, LLC v. Fireman’s Fund Ins. Co. (A135938; A136740, Certified for Partial Publication November 24, 2014; 231 Cal.App.4th 1131, modified at 231 Cal.App.4th 1437d) based on legal errors in the opinion with…
Grayson v. Allstate Ins. Co.
Year: 2014
Court: U.S. Court of Appeals, 9th Circuit
Case Number: 14-55959
Issue:
  • Bad Faith
State:
  • California

Under California law, the duty of good faith and fair dealing is implied in all insurance contracts. When an insured purchases insurance, they expect that their insurance carrier will act in good faith when they themselves tender a claim and also where an injured third-party…
USAA Texas Lloyds Company v. Gail Menchaca
Year: 2016
Court: Texas Supreme Court
Case Number: 14-0721
Issue:
  • Bad Faith
State:
  • Texas

The Texas Insurance Code allows for a private right of action for bad faith when an insurance company violates certain claims handling standards. One of these standards is a failure to conduct a reasonable investigation of a claim. This is sufficient for a policyholder to…
Radiator Specialty Company v. Fireman’s Fund Insurance Co.
Year: 2016
Court: North Carolina Court of Appeals
Case Number: 16-638
Issue:
  • Allocation
  • Duty to Defend
  • Indemnify
State:
  • North Carolina

UP supports the position that the terms of the standard commercial general liability (“CGL”) policy compels “all sums” allocation. UP wrote separately from the parties of the case to bring to the Court’s attention the extensive drafting history of the insurance industry, which confirms that…
National Union Fire Ins. Co. of Pittsburgh, PA v. The Fund for Animals
Year: 2016
Court: Maryland Court of Appeals
Case Number: No. 18, September Term, 2016
Issue:
  • Notice-prejudice
State:
  • Maryland

Under Maryland law, an insurance company must show actual prejudice in order to deny coverage for a late-reported claim. The prejudice must be actual, meaning tangible, i.e., the insurance company must demonstrate that had the claim been timely reported, the results of the litigation for…
Gordon Blackwell v. Foremost Ins. Co.
Year: 2016
Court: California Supreme Court
Case Number: H042263
Issue:
  • Appraisal
State:
  • California

UP submitted a letter urging the California Supreme Court to grant review on a very important issue for homeowners: whether an insurance company whose policy contains an appraisal provision as a pre-requisite to a lawsuit, can litigate a case for two years and then on…