Michael Glascott, Author at The Insurance & Reinsurance Report

October 7, 2013 Policy Conditions, Considerations, Construction, and Formation

Old Republic Relies Upon Escape Clause To Partially Avoid Primary Coverage In Auto-Tractor-Trailer Accident

Amerisure Ins. Co. v. Old Republic Ins. Co.,
M.D. Fla. Sept. 27, 2013 (2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 139251)

This declaratory judgment action arises from an underlying auto and tractor-trailer accident. At the time of the accident, the tractor was owned by Ryder Truck Rental, and the trailer was owned by an affiliate of Star Transportation Company and Star Distribution Systems, Inc. (collectively Star). The tractor was leased to Star pursuant to a Truck Lease and Service Agreement (TLSA). Ryder was insured under a business auto …

September 23, 2013 Policy Conditions, Considerations, Construction, and Formation

Despite Daily Visits, Home Considered Vacant for Vandalism Exclusion

New London County Mut. Ins. Co. v. Zachem
145 Conn. App. 160 (Conn. App. Ct. 2013)

The plaintiff insurance company sought a declaratory judgment to determine whether it had a duty to provide coverage under an insurance policy issued to the defendants for a claimed loss arising from an explosion and fire that destroyed a house they owned on September 8, 2008. No one had resided at the house since July, 2007, and an intruder broke into the house and removed a copper propane gas …

September 19, 2013 Policy Conditions, Considerations, Construction, and Formation

No Coverage For Nightclub Dancer Set on Fire by Patron

Mount Vernon Fire Ins. Corp. v. Oxnard Hospitality Ent. Inc.,
Court of Appeal of the State of California, Second Appellate District, Division Three (September 16, 2013)
An employee of the insured appealed a California trial court decision which held that Mount Vernon had no duty to cover a $10 million award. The award was granted to the employee after she was set on fire by a third party at the insured’s bar.

The employee sued her employer and others for negligence after she sustained serious …

September 11, 2013 Emerging Issues

Texas Supreme Court to Rule on BP-Transocean Coverage Dispute

(Tex. Sept. 6, 2013)

The Texas Supreme Court announced Friday that it would enter the fight over $750 million in insurance coverage for the catastrophic BP oil spill that occurred in April 2010.

This past March, the Fifth Circuit rule on the scope of BP’s additional insured coverage under excess policies issued to Transocean. The Fifth Circuit ruled that “where an additional insured provision is separate from and additional to an indemnity provision, the scope of the insurance requirement is not limited by the indemnity …

August 6, 2013 Emerging Issues

California Supreme Court Authorizes UCL Lawsuits Against Insurers

Yanting Zhang v. California Capital Insurance Company

In a decision by the state’s highest court, the California Supreme Court harmonized years of split opinions among California courts regarding the inability to bring a private action under the Unfair Insurance Practices Act (UIPA). The inability to do so arose out of a 1988 decision by the same court, which stated that UIPA never intended to create a private cause of action for commission of the unfair practices listed therein. Moradi-Shalal v. Fireman’s Fund Ins. Co., …

July 24, 2013 Emerging Issues

Insurer Owes Coverage After Longshoreman Drops Lathe

Amera-Seiki Corp. v. The Cincinnati Ins. Co., United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, July 23, 2013
The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals found that The Cincinnati Insurance Company owed coverage to its insured for equipment that was destroyed at port terminal based on ambiguous policy language. The Cincinnati Insurance Company insured a machine tool supplier, Amera-Seiki Corp., under a commercial property policy. During the policy period, Amera-Seiki purchased a vertical lathe from Taiwan for delivery to a customer in Illinois. The …

July 1, 2013 Policy Conditions, Considerations, Construction, and Formation

Too Little, Too Late: Malpractice Coverage Evaporates With Law Firm’s Tardy Notice

Minnesota Lawyers Mut. Ins. Co. v. Baylor & Jackson, PLLC
(4^thCir. (Md.) June 27, 2013)

The Fourth Circuit recently held that a malpractice insurer was not obligated to defend or indemnify a law firm against a multi-million dollar lawsuit arising from the firm’s failure to submit admissible evidence in opposition to a motion for summary judgment. The court held that the firm breached the policy’s notice provision by waiting until an appellate court affirmed the lower court’s ruling granting summary judgment against its …

June 12, 2013 Policy Conditions, Considerations, Construction, and Formation

Locked Out – Excess Insurer Can’t Break Into Underlying Claims

ProBuild Holdings, Inc. et al. v. Granite State Insurance Company et al.

The plaintiff-insured is a supplier of residential and commercial building materials and was sued many times over for providing Chinese-manufactured drywall to a number of builders and homeowners. Extensive discovery was conducting in the underlying litigation which the plaintiff ultimately resolved via two massive settlements. The plaintiff brought this suit against its primary and excess insurers seeking indemnification for a portion of the settlement costs and its defense costs.

In that litigation, …

May 13, 2013 Policy Conditions, Considerations, Construction, and Formation

Alabama’s Highest Court Settles Ambiguity and Declares Faulty Work is not an Occurrence

Shane Traylor Cabinetmaker, LLC and Michael Shane Traylor v. American Resources Insurance Company, Inc. (Ala.)

The highest court in Alabama confirmed and clarified current law addressing whether there could be an occurrence due to faulty work in and of itself, where there was no damage to any surrounding property. In this case, the insured was hired to perform cabinetry and woodworking work for a homebuilder. The insured sued the homebuilder and was later countersued for breach of contract, negligence, and mental-anguish, among other things. This …

April 29, 2013 Policy Conditions, Considerations, Construction, and Formation

Federal Court Maintains No Property Damage, No Occurrence Stance for Intentional Breach of Contract

NWS Corp. v. Hartford Fire Ins. Co. (D. Mass.) (12-30113-KPN)
The U.S. District Court for Massachusetts relied on long-standing state law to deny coverage for an insured television programmer who was sued by DirectTV for setting prices below those set forth in its contract with DirectTV, and fraudulently concealing its conduct with numerous material misrepresentations. In the underlying matter, the arbitrator awarded DirectTV $5 million, finding that the insured “materially breached its contract,” “made intentional, deliberate misrepresentations” and “was also liable for … conversion.” A …