In the recently published case Bartel v. Chicago Title Insurance Company, a California appellate court reaffirmed longstanding California law on insurers’ broad duty to defend even in the face of complicated underlying facts,...more
8/26/2025
/ Appellate Courts ,
Bad Faith ,
California ,
Covenant of Good Faith and Fair Dealing ,
Denial of Insurance Coverage ,
Duty to Defend ,
Easements ,
Failure to Investigate ,
Insurance Claims ,
Insurance Litigation ,
Liability Insurance ,
Policy Exclusions ,
Right of Way ,
Title Insurance
As of January 13, Southern California’s ongoing wildfires have reportedly destroyed more than 12,000 structures. Insured loss estimates exceed $25 billion, and the strong Santa Ana winds fanning the blazes are expected to...more
1/14/2025
/ California ,
Commercial General Liability Policies ,
Denial of Insurance Coverage ,
Documentation ,
Homeowners ,
Insurance Claims ,
Insurance Industry ,
Policy Terms ,
Property Damage ,
Risk Management ,
Wildfires
In a recent federal court filing, Zurich American Insurance Company asked the district court to ignore the entirety of science regarding COVID-19 in order to support Zurich’s denial of all coverage for COVID-19 business...more
Since the novel coronavirus landed in America, the insurance industry has worked hard to create the impression that there is no coverage for business interruption losses resulting from the pandemic. For the most part,...more
By statute, California law holds that willful misconduct—where an insured intends to cause someone harm—is not insurable as a matter of public policy. For years, insurance companies have sought to expand this prohibition to...more
6/6/2018
/ CA Supreme Court ,
Commercial General Liability Policies ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Denial of Insurance Coverage ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Insurance Industry ,
Insurance Litigation ,
Negligent Hiring ,
Negligent Supervision ,
Policy Exclusions ,
Willful Misconduct