C. Wesley Vines, Admitted to Practice in OK since 1983 and TX since 1990 In light of the recent devastating storms in Oklahoma, it is worth bearing in mind: (1) Oklahoma’s basic rules for interpreting insurance policies, including the “reasonable expectation doctrine,” (2) Oklahoma’s standard for determining “actual cash value,” including the “broad evidence rule,” and (3) Oklahoma’s standard of good faith and fair dealing. In Redcorn vs. State Farm Ins. Co., 55 P.3d 1017 (Okla. 2002), the Oklahoma Supreme Court held that an insurance policy is a contract and the same principles generally apply to the construction of a policy of insurance as apply to any adhesion contract.  The parties to a contract for insurance are free to choose…

On March 13, 2013, the Oregon legislature introduced Senate Bill 814 to create sweeping reforms on environmental claims handling regulations and available remedies for insureds facing liability for cleanup of contaminated property located in the state. The proposed legislation would amend the existing Oregon Environmental Cleanup Assistance Act (OECAA) under ORS 465.479 and ORS 465.465 to impose stricter claims handling regulations, create a statutory cause of action for violations of the regulations, and allow punitive damages to be awarded if the court finds the insurer acted unreasonably. Because the OECAA provides that “Oregon law shall be applied in all cases where the contaminated property to which the action related is located within the State of Oregon,”1 the legislation has the…

On April 15, 2013, a New York trial court granted the insured’s request for the production of certain claims file material and previously sealed discovery in Estée Lauder Inc. v. OneBeacon Insurance Group LLC et al., index number 602379/2005, leaving insurers with yet another troubling instance of a broadened scope of discovery in bad faith cases. The trial court denied categorical protection for documents created by the insurer during the course of litigation, even if licensed attorneys were involved in the creation of such post-filing documents. Instead, the court was clear – post-litigation documents that relate to the alleged post-filing bad faith conduct are discoverable, unless the insurer demonstrates that the specific document for which it is seeking protection is…