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Tenth Circuit Rules Against Insurer and Decides That Appraisers Can Decide Causation

Posted on October 12, 2021 by Karl A. Schulz

In the continuing saga of what can and cannot be appraised in a property insurance appraisal, the Tenth Circuit, in contrast to many other courts, has ruled appraisers can determine coverage issues. In Bonbeck Parker, LLC v. Travelers Indem. Co. of Am., 2021 U.S. App. LEXIS 29607 (10th Cir. October 1, 2021), a hailstorm damaged three buildings covered under a commercial property insurance policy. A dispute between the insured and insurer arose over whether the hailstorm caused all of the damage claimed. The insurer paid some of the claimed damage, but denied coverage for other claimed damage, asserting that it was caused by non-covered causes such as wear and tear. The insured invoked appraisal. About The Author

Tagged with: appraisal, appraiser, Causation, cause, Colorado, declaratory judgment, determine, loss, Tenth, Texas, umpire
Posted in Causation, Coverage, Uncategorized

New Jersey Federal Court Holds That Insurance Coverage Issues Do Not Need To Be Decided Before Appraisal

Posted on July 06, 2021 by Paul Ferland, Vincent Passarelli

A federal court recently held that ongoing insurance coverage issues should not prevent an appraisal from going forward as per an appraisal clause in the insurance policy. In DC Plastic Products Corp. v. Westchester Surplus Lines Insurance Co. Case No. 17-13092 (D.N.J. May 19, 2021), the District Court of New Jersey directed the parties to proceed with the appraisal process as set forth in the relevant policy, despite the defendant-insurer’s argument that appraisal is improper under New Jersey law where unresolved coverage issues exist. Plaintiff DC Plastics Products Corporation (“DC Plastics”) made an insurance claim to its insurance carrier Westchester Surplus Lines Insurance Co. (“Westchester”) after DC Plastics’ premises in Bayonne, New Jersey was damaged as a result of Superstorm…

Ensuing Loss Clause Does Not Create Coverage for “Collapse” Inseparable from Damage Caused by Excluded Perils

Posted on October 16, 2020 by Paul Ferland, Jordan Hess

In Jowite Limited Partnership v. Federal Insurance Company, the United States District Court for the District of Maryland issued a rare opinion addressing whether “collapse” is a covered “ensuing loss” under an all-risks insurance policy without a specific collapse coverage. Case No. 1:18-cv-02413-DLB (D. Md. August 17, 2020). In a win for insurers, the Court held that, under Maryland law, the ensuing loss exception to a construction defect exclusion did not apply to reinstate coverage where the purported “collapse” was to the defective property itself, regardless of whether the “collapse” was characterized as merely the damage caused by construction defects or a separate and distinct peril. The insured, Jowite Limited Partnership (“Jowite”), owned an apartment complex constructed in…