The Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Missouri declined to recognize a mediation privilege in In re Lake Lotawana Community Improvement District, 2016 WL 7984347 (Bankr. W.D. Mo. Sept. 19, 2016), despite the fact that it conceded that other …
Mediation Statements in Federal Courts May or May Not be Privileged and Can Be Waived Read more »
On February 24, 2017, the Texas Supreme Court reinstated a state trial court ruling that an “insured-versus insured” exclusion barred coverage under a D&O policy for the costs of defending a lawsuit. Because the D&O insurer demonstrated, as a matter …
The Supreme Court of Alaska in Burnett v. Government Employees Insurance Company, 2017 WL 382648 (Alaska 2017) recently decided in a 3-2 decision that an insurer who voluntarily assumed the responsibility for cleaning up an oil spill on a third …
Alaska Creates Exception to General Rule that Injured Party Cannot Sue Insured’s Carrier Read more »
The California Supreme Court recently held, in Los Angeles Board of Supervisors v. Superior Court (2016) that attorneys’ invoices may not be protected by the attorney-client privilege after litigation ends. The issue arose out of a lawsuit brought by the …
Earlier this month, the Washington Supreme Court strictly limited Washington’s “Insurance Fair Conduct Act” (IFCA) private cause of action. Enacted in 2007, IFCA provides for uncapped triple-damages awards, and mandates attorney fee awards. However, the statute’s enabling provisions restrict IFCA …
Alert! — Washington Supreme Court Limits “Insurance Fair Conduct Act” Read more »
Mississippi essentially has three levels of claim when insurance is at issue: (1) mere breach of contract, allowing recovery of contract damages; (2) breach of contract + no arguable basis for breach, which entitles recovery of consequential damages; and (3) …
Fifth Circuit Provides Road Map for Review and Trial of Bad Faith Claims in Mississippi Read more »
About The Author
This author suggested, in an earlier May 2016 Bad Faith blog article, that an insurer can measure on a “strength scale” its insurance coverage defenses while it defends its insured against underlying claims and lawsuits under a reservation of rights. …
When does receipt of a pre-suit claim notice letter trigger an insurance carrier’s obligation to provide a defense and/or indemnity? In Sanders v. Phoenix Insurance Co., the First Circuit provided some guidance to this question, holding that a pre-suit notice …
First Circuit Provides Guidance as to When a Notice of Claim Triggers Policy Obligations Read more »
Georgia has a very specific law called “Holt demands” concerning time-limited demands made against a liability insurance policy. In Southern General Ins. Co. v. Holt, 262 Ga. 267, 416 S.E.2d 274 (1992), the Georgia Supreme Court held that where the …