On July 20, 2022, Florida’s Third District Court of Appeal reversed and remanded a trial court’s decision compelling the parties to proceed with appraisal and staying litigation until that appraisal was completed. Florida’s...more
The Tenth Circuit recently held that, under Kansas law, an intentional loss exclusion precludes coverage for damage caused by an intentionally set fire even if the actual resulting damage is unintended. In Taylor et al. v. LM...more
On June 28, the Missouri Court of Appeals upheld a lower court’s decision finding Lexington Insurance Company (“Lexington”) breached its policy with homeowner Cynthia Franklin. Franklin’s home has sustained damage in a May...more
An intentional act may not be an “occurrence” even when there is no intent to cause harm, according to a California appellate court’s recent ruling in Ghukasian v. Aegis Security Insurance Co.1 Ghukasian involved an insured...more
6/1/2022
/ Bad Faith ,
Breach of Contract ,
Construction Defects ,
Declaratory Relief ,
Duty to Defend ,
General Contractors ,
Harmful Error ,
Intentional Torts ,
Negligence ,
Occurrence ,
Property Damage ,
Property Insurance ,
Trespass
According to a recent ruling by a New York appellate court, coverage for excavation damage is precluded by the policy’s earth movement exclusion. In 3502 Partners LLC v. Great American Insurance Co. of New York, Case No....more
Accepting coverage for part of a claim may subject an insurer to a policy’s appraisal process when the extent of covered damage is in dispute, according to a recent ruling issued by the Eastern District of Tennessee....more
The Second Circuit has now joined the Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, Eighth, Ninth, Tenth, and Eleventh Circuits in holding that no insurance coverage exists for business interruption losses caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and the...more
A district court in Montana recently applied an anti-concurrent clause in a property insurance policy to preclude coverage based on an earth movement exclusion. In Ward v. Safeco Ins. Co. of Amer., No. 1:19-CV-0133-SPW, 2021...more
In determining when the work product doctrine is triggered, the Northern District of Illinois recently held that, rather than adopting a bright-line rule, the issue should be decided on a case-by-case basis at the court’s...more
8/18/2021
/ Bright-Line Rule ,
Discovery ,
Document Productions ,
Fire Damage ,
Insurance Claims ,
Insurance Litigation ,
Investigations ,
Litigation Strategies ,
Property Damage ,
Property Insurance ,
Work-Product Doctrine
Flood exclusions may not apply when floods are preceded by winds strong enough to independently cause the loss, according to a recent decision issued by the Western District of Louisiana. In Doxey v. Aegis Security Ins. Co.,...more
7/21/2021
/ Denial of Insurance Coverage ,
Flood Insurance ,
Flooding ,
Hurricane Laura ,
Insurance Claims ,
Insurance Litigation ,
Policy Exclusions ,
Property Damage ,
Property Insurance ,
Severe Weather ,
Water Damage
The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals recently held that, under Iowa law, an insurer is not liable for breach of contract or bad faith if its coverage decision was objectively reasonable at the time it was made. In Hallmark...more
The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals recently held that, under Georgia law, an appraisal process tolled a commercial property policy’s two-year contractual suit limitation period even for non-covered claims....more
A Florida court recently held that rust and corrosion of water pipes is an “act of nature,” and, thus, was excluded from coverage under a homeowner’s insurance policy. In Dodge v. People’s Trust Insurance Company, 2021 WL...more
Insurers in South Carolina may now depreciate both labor costs and material costs when determining the “actual cash value” (ACV) owed to policyholders for property damage....more
A District Court in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania recently held that an insured’s submission of invoices altered to inflate replacement costs for water-damaged inventory constituted material misrepresentations. ...more
6/3/2021
/ Common Law Claims ,
Denial of Insurance Coverage ,
Insurance Claims ,
Insurance Fraud ,
Insurance Litigation ,
Invoices ,
Material Misrepresentation ,
Property Damage ,
Property Insurance ,
Summary Judgment ,
Water Damage
Last week Hurricane Laura became the strongest hurricane on record to make landfall in the state of Louisiana since 1856. The Category 4 storm claimed at least 10 lives and caused an estimated $4 to $7 billion in property...more
Coronavirus (“COVID-19”) has disrupted events, supply chains, sales, and entire industries. As a result, businesses are going to look to their property insurers to recuperate lost business income, as well as expenses related...more
3/18/2020
/ China ,
Civil Authority Coverage ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Crisis Management ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Insurance Claims ,
Policy Exclusions ,
Policy Terms ,
Property Damage ,
Property Insurance ,
Public Health
The novel coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) has disrupted events, supply chains, sales, and entire industries. As a result, businesses will likely look to their property insurers to recuperate lost business income, as well as...more
3/16/2020
/ Business Disruption ,
Business Interruption ,
Business Losses ,
China ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Crisis Management ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Insurance Claims ,
Liability Insurance ,
Policy Exclusions ,
Policy Terms ,
Property Damage ,
Public Health ,
Third-Party Liability
In February, the Nebraska Supreme Court held that it is acceptable for insurance companies to depreciate labor costs when determining the actual cash value (ACV) of damaged property, even when the insurance policy does not...more