The Second Department, Appellate Division, for the Supreme Court of New York, recently held in a matter of first impression, that an insurance company with a duty to defend may not recover defense costs after a determination that no duty to indemnify or further defend exists—even though the insurer expressly reserved its right to recoup
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COVID-19 Business Interruption Insurance Claims – Don’t Overlook the Ordinance Or Law Exclusion
The legal media have been inundated with articles by lawyers who represent policyholders and insurance companies discussing business interruption claims arising from the COVID-19 pandemic. Some of this discussion has carried over into the mainstream media, including a recent Wall Street Journal article. Much of the discussion focuses on two issues. First, property insurance…
Assignments of Benefits Under Homeowners Insurance Policies: Iowa Supreme Court Rules that Assignment Was Void Because Contractor Was Acting as Unlicensed Public Adjuster
One practice that has plagued the insurance industry in recent years has been contractors soliciting homeowners to make insurance claims after a hailstorm, for example, and then obtaining an assignment of rights to the claim and pursuing litigation against the insurer. The Iowa Supreme Court recently ruled that a contractor’s attempt to obtain such an…
The District of New Jersey Affirms Application of Suit Limitation Provision in Train Derailment
Although we cover a wide variety of topics and issues on this blog, one issue that recurs with some frequency is the appropriate application of suit limitation provisions that are found in most property policies. The latest case to confirm that suit limitation provisions are valid and enforceable, and to highlight the peril an insured…
New Statutory Framework Confronts Florida’s AOB Crisis
A new law represents a major step forward to remedy Florida’s assignment of benefits (“AOB”) crisis, which Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has described as a “racket” in recent years. On Thursday May 23, 2019, Governor DeSantis signed House Bill 7065, which addresses the abuse of post-loss AOBs for residential and commercial property insurance claims, by…
The Southern District Finds Unambiguous Policy Language Controls NYU’s Superstorm Sandy Claim
The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York recently granted an insurer’s motion for summary judgment in a case arising from Superstorm Sandy based on unambiguous policy language providing a significantly lower limit of liability for losses resulting from flood damage. In New York University v. Factory Mutual Insurance Co., 2019…
District of New Jersey Applies Anti-Concurrent Causation Provision to Superstorm Sandy Claim
In a recent decision arising out of Superstorm Sandy, the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey confirmed the enforceability of anti-concurrent causation provisions. Zero Barnegat Bay, LLC v. Lexington Ins. Co., No. 14-cv-1716, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 43625 (D.N.J. Mar. 18, 2019).…
Residence Premises Condition: New York Trial Court Grants Summary Judgment Based On a Finding of A “Feigned” Affidavit
A New York trial court recently granted an insurer’s motion for summary judgment pursuant to the “Residence Premises Condition” contained in a homeowner’s insurance policy. Aschmoneit v. Adirondack Insurance Exchange, 2018 N.Y. LEXIS 3418 (August 7, 2018), The court found that the insured did not reside at the home despite an affidavit asserting that…
Work Product and Attorney-Client Privilege Concerning Documents Drafted Prior To Litigation: Eastern District Of New York Finds Insurer’s Documents Are Not Discoverable
Insurers retain outside counsel during claim investigations for a variety of reasons, including, among others, providing coverage advice, assisting in reviewing and responding to communications with insureds that have legal implications, and providing settlement recommendations. When coverage disputes arise, policyholders often seek the production of these pre-suit communications, arguing that outside counsel was merely performing…
District of Connecticut Reaffirms That Definition Of “Collapse” Is Unambiguous
The United States District Court for the District of Connecticut recently reaffirmed its ruling that the term “collapse,” as defined by a homeowners insurance policy, is unambiguous and that the policy in question did not provide coverage for the alleged “cracking” and/or “bulging” of the insureds’ foundation walls. In Alexander v. Gen. Ins. Co. of…