In a recent decision by the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, Wood v. GeoVera Specialty Insurance Company (2024 WL 3952571), the court affirmed that unambiguous policy limits remain enforceable even when an appraisal award exceeds those limits. This decision provides valuable guidance for insurers handling post-catastrophe claims.
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In AMAG Pharmaceuticals, Inc. v. American Guarantee and Liability Insurance Company, the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts held that a loose bolt or fitting that could be remedied simply by tightening it did not constitute “direct physical loss of or damage” to equipment covered under an all-risk property insurance policy.[1]
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In J&S Welding, Inc. v. Liberty Mutual Insurance Company, the U.S. Court of Appeals reviewed a summary judgment ruling in favor of co-defendant West American Insurance Company (“West American”), issued by the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee. The 6th Circuit held that the property policy’s cosmetic damage exclusion applied to bar coverage because the insured, J&S Welding, Inc. (“Insured”), failed to disclose or produce any expert evidence to rebut the conclusions of the West American’s three experts, who determined the roof’s damage was merely cosmetic.
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In Life Skills, Inc. v. Harleysville Insurance Company, 2024 WL 3792261 (D. Mass. 2024), the District Court of Massachusetts found that “collapse” provisions within a commercial property policy were ambiguous where a floor merely sagged without completely falling to the ground.
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In Zurich American Insurance Company v. Medical Properties Trust, Inc., 2024 WL 3504060 (Mass. Jul. 23, 2024), the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts held that the term “surface waters,” as used in a limitation contained in commercial property insurance policies, was ambiguous in the context of rainwater accumulating on roofs, thereby finding coverage for the insured.
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Ending a putative class action, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit examined policy language and two statutes to hold that an insurer does not owe sales tax on top of an actual cash value payment. The citation is Taylor v. Root Ins. Co., 2024 U.S. App. LEXIS 18240 (5th Cir. July 24, 2024).
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The recent decision of Marcantel v. State Farm Fire, No. 2:22-CV-01511, 2024 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 111077 (W.D. La. June 24, 2024) offers valuable lessons for policyholders regarding the importance of cooperation in the insurance claims process.
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In MAve Hotel Investors LLC d/b/a The MAve Hotel, et al. v. Certain Underwriters at Lloyd’s, London, et al., 2024 WL 2830909, (S.D.N.Y. 2024), to preserve diversity jurisdiction, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York permitted a plaintiff insured to drop non-diverse, dispensable defendant Underwriters at Lloyd’s, London (“Underwriters”) which subscribed to a commercial property insurance policy.
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The New York Supreme Court recently weighed in on what constitutes “reasonable care” to maintain heat in the context of a first-party insurance policy exclusion requiring such reasonable care. In Michael Zimmerman v. Leatherstocking Cooperative Insurance Company, CV-23-0362, 2024 NY Slip Op 02113 (April 18, 2024), the Plaintiff was in the process of selling his home in Saratoga Springs, New York. The house was insured under a homeowners policy issued by Leatherstocking Cooperative Insurance Company. On January 2, 2019, a real estate broker arrived at the house and discovered extensive water damage. Plaintiff, who had left for an extended vacation a month prior, notified Leatherstocking of the loss.
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In BCC Partners, LLC v. Travelers Prop. Cas. Co. of America, 2024 WL 1050117 (E.D. Mo. March 11, 2024), the Court determined that the plaintiff property owner, as an additional insured, was not entitled to the same insurance coverage as the named insured where the builder’s risk policy limited the scope of recovery for soft costs and rental income.
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