In Selective Ins. Co. v. RLI Ins. Co., 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 90572 (N.D. Ohio July 13, 2015), a coverage dispute arose after an individual who, following his exoneration from a criminal conviction for rape and murder, sued the municipality who had pursued the criminal case against him. During the relevant time period, the municipality held successive one year policies with two primary insurers and two excess insurers. The first excess policy ran from policy 1997 -1998 and the second ran from 1998-1999.…
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Hawaiian High Court Allows an Excess Insurer to Equitably Subrogate a Bad Faith Claim
On a certified question from the Hawaiian federal district court, the Hawaiian Supreme Court allowed an excess insurer to sue a primary insurer for bad faith. The case, St. Paul Fire and Marine Insurance Co. v. Liberty Mutual Insurance Co., arose out of claims that the primary insurer failed to settle underlying claims within its policy limits. The excess insurer contended the primary insurer had multiple opportunities to settle an accidental death claim within the $1 million primary limits, and its failure to do …
Continue ReadingExcess Insurer May Recoup Settlement Payments from the Primary Insurer
In RSUI Indemnity Co. v. American States Insurance Co., No. 14-30033, 2014 U.S. App. LEXIS 18407 (5th Cir. Sept. 25, 2014), the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals held no adjudicated excess judgment is required for an excess insurer to recoup settlement payments from the primary insurer whose alleged bad faith failure to defend the common insured caused the excess settlement.
In the underlying action arising from an automobile collision, counsel retained by the primary carrier, American States Insurance Co. (ASIC), for the insureds allegedly …
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