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District Court Denies Defendant’s Motion To Compel Arbitration
Forum Credit Union v. DCFU Credit Union (United States District Court, Southern District Indiana, March 29, 2011)
Plaintiff Forum Credit Union (“Forum”) entered into a loan-participation agreement with Defendant DFCU Financial, another credit union, whereby both entities shared ownership and funding of two loans that DFCU made to two of its credit-union members. The agreement included a term requiring DFCU to purchase Forum’s ownership shares if the loans went into default. When the loans went into default, DFCU refused Forum’s demand that it buy Forum’s …
Continue ReadingEvacuation Order Insufficient to Trigger Loss of Business Income Coverage
Dickie Brennan & Co., Inc. v. Lexington Insurance Company (5th Cir (La.) March 23, 2011)
As Hurricane Gustav was on a path toward New Orleans in 2008, the mayor issued a mandatory evacuation order and declared a state of emergency “because of anticipated high lake and marsh tides due to the tidal surge, combined with the possibility of intense thunderstorms, hurricane force winds and widespread flooding.” As a result of the order, several restaurants closed. Subsequently, they sought lost income from their insurer …
Continue ReadingNew Mexico Court Of Appeal Affirmed Summary Judgment To Insurer On Applicability Of Qualified Pollution Exclusion
United Nuclear Corp. v. Allstate Ins. Co. (New Mexico Court of Appeals, March 9, 2011)
This environmental coverage dispute arose from claims that plaintiff policyholder, United Nuclear Corp. (UNC), discharged contaminants in the course of its mining operations during the 1970’s and 1980’s. Specifically, plaintiff policyholder was sued in state court by a mineral lessor, Santa Fe Pacific Gold, for discharging pollutants at one of the policyholder’s New Mexico mines. Allstate provided UNC comprehensive liability insurance, but disclaimed coverage arguing that the claims were barred …
Continue ReadingDistrict Court Denies Insurer Summary Judgment On Application of Pollution Exclusion, Allowing Policyholder To Conduct Discovery On Alleged Latent Ambiguity In the Policy
Lymtal Int’l Inc. v. Chubb Custom Ins. Co. (United States District Court, Western District of Oklahoma, February 15, 2011)
This environmental coverage dispute stems from a dispute as to the applicability of the Total Pollution Exclusion contained in Lymtal’s commercial liability policy. The policyholder filed a breach of contract and bad faith action against its insurer, Chubb, for failing to provide it with a defense in a state court products liability action. Chubb moved for summary judgment arguing that the pollution exclusion applied to bar …
Continue ReadingNew Insurance Agent and Broker Rules Regarding Disclosure of Contingent Commissions Which Take Effect in New York January 1, 2011
New insurance agent and broker disclosure rules regarding contingent commissions are scheduled to take effect in New York on January 1, 2011: “NYCRR 30 (Regulation 194 Producer Compensation Transparency). This regulation has spurred much debate in the insurance industry. Terry Fleming, President of Risk and Insurance Management Society, stated in an opinion column in the September 6, 2010 edition of The National Underwriter that contingent commissions for insurance brokers cause “an inherent conflict of interest” and he defended the New York law mandating greater …
Continue ReadingCaseWatch: Insurance Cases for November 22, 2010 Edition
Amerisure Mut. Ins. Co. v. Microplastics, Inc.
Archway Ins. Services, Inc. v. James River Ins. Co.
Arrowood Indemnity Co. v. Travelers Indemnity Co. of Connecticut
Ash Grove Cement Co. v. Liberty Mutual Ins. Co.
Bradley v. Allstate Insurance Company
Builders Mutual Ins. Co. v. Wingard Properties, Inc.
Century Indemnity Co. v. The Marine Group, LLC
Chaucer Corporate Capital No. 2 Ltd. v. Azad
Gen'l Star Indemn. Co. v. Mid-Atlantic Youth Services Corp.…
Continue ReadingProfessional Liability Monthly – November 2010 Edition is Now Available
For a free copy of this month's edition of the Professional Liability Monthly, click here.
To be added to our circulation list whereby you receive this publication for free each month via email, please contact Brian Biggie at [email protected].…
Continue ReadingInsurer Held Responsible For Cost Of Drilling Relief Wells As Part of Cleanup Effort Of Offshore Oil Facility Damaged By Hurricane
TAYLOR ENERGY V. UNDERWRITERS AT LLOYD’S (E.D. Louisiana October 29, 2010)
Judge Stanwood R. Duval Jr. of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana denied the insurer's motion for summary judgment while granting the policyholder's cross motion for summary judgment on the coverage issue for the cost of drilling relief wells related to a cleanup effort of an offshore facility damaged by Hurricant Ivan. Judge Duval concluded that the policyholder’s motion “has merit as the terms of the insurance contract are unambiguous …
Continue ReadingCourt Grants Motion to Compel Production of Reinsurance Information
Suffolk Federal Credit Union v. CUMIS Ins. Society, Inc. (E.D.N.Y. October 19, 2010)
Plaintiff filed a declaratory judgment action alleging that defendant failed to pay sums due under a fidelity bond it issued for losses plaintiff sustained as the result of wrongful acts of a company with which plaintiff did business. Plaintiff served discovery demands requesting reinsurance information, and defendant objected on the grounds that the request was overly broad, unduly burdensome and sought information not relevant to any claim or defense in the case. …
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