Jeremy P. Brummond | Construction Executive Construction agreements can be lengthy. They often include terms covering everything from logistics for working on the project site to complicated provisions regarding intellectual property. Many provisions in a construction agreement deal with risk and who is going to pay for damage claims if or when they occur. However,… Continue reading Waiver of Consequential Damages: The Most Important Provision in a Construction Contract
Month: March 2021
Triable Issue of Fact Exists as to Insurer’s Obligation to Provide Coverage Under Occurrence Policy
Valerie A. Moore and Kathleen E.M. Moriarty | Haight Brown & Bonesteel In Guastello v. AIG Specialty Ins. Co. (No. G057714. filed 2/19/21 ord. pub. 2/23/21), a California appeals court held that triable issues of material fact exist which precluded summary judgment for an insurer seeking to disclaim coverage on the basis that the “occurrence” pre-dated the… Continue reading Triable Issue of Fact Exists as to Insurer’s Obligation to Provide Coverage Under Occurrence Policy
No Coverage for Home Damaged by Falling Boulders
Tred R. Eyerly | Insurance Law Hawaii The policy’s earth movement exclusion barred coverage for the home damaged by large boulders rolling down from the hillside above. Sullivan v. Nationwide Affinity Ins. Co. of Am., 2021 U.S. App. LEZXIS 628 (10th Cir Jan. 11, 2021). Plaintiffs’ home sustained extensive damage when two… Continue reading No Coverage for Home Damaged by Falling Boulders
An Insurer Is Not Subject to Strict Liability for the Failure to Accept a Reasonable Settlement
Kathryn Ashton | Clyde & Co. In March 2021, an appellate court decision clarified what the law has always been in California; that to find an insurer liable for bad faith, the insured (or its assignee or a judgment creditor) must plead and prove the insurer acted unreasonably or without proper cause. California’s standardized jury… Continue reading An Insurer Is Not Subject to Strict Liability for the Failure to Accept a Reasonable Settlement
Keeping the Cap On the Policy: Unreasonable Conduct Is a Necessary Element of a “Bad Faith Failure to Settle” Claim
Jared K. LeBeau | Sheppard Mullin Pinto v. Farmers Ins. Exch., ___ Cal. App. 5th ___ (2021) Over the past several years, the insurance industry in California has been plagued by waves of “bad faith failure to settle” claims. These claims arise out of a variety of circumstances and can take many forms, but at… Continue reading Keeping the Cap On the Policy: Unreasonable Conduct Is a Necessary Element of a “Bad Faith Failure to Settle” Claim