Insurance defense practices in construction defect cases
Professor Herbert Kritzer's article on "The Commodification of Insurance Defense Practice" in construction defect and other cases is a must read for attorneys representing both claimants and insured.
Posted In Construction Defects & Defective Construction , Construction Industry News , Construction Law , Insurance , Insurance Bad FaithComments / Questions (0) | Permalink
Katrina victims win round when federal court holds the insurance policy ambiguous
Updated: A Mississippi federal district court has held State Farm's insurance policy form ambiguous and that State Farm must pay for wind and water damage even if tidal surge caused later caused further destruction, reports the SunHerald.
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The Supreme Court decides to revisit the issue of constitutional limits on punitive damages (UPDATED)
The Court will decide whether its earlier decision in State Farm v Campbell (i) mandates a reasonable ratio between compensatory and punitive damages when the defendants conduct was outrageous and (ii) prohibits the jury from considering the harm done to persons other than the plaintiff in making its award.
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The effect of giving an insurer late notice on a otherwise covered construction claim
Marc Mayerson over at the Insurance Scrawl does his usual masterful job discussing recent case law on when late notice results in forfeiture of insurance coverage.
Posted In Construction Claims & Disputes , Construction Contracts , Construction Law , Insurance , Insurance Bad Faith , Insurance CoverageComments / Questions (0) | Permalink
Punitive damages in construction litigation
Punitive damages sometimes are awarded in construction claim cases and often awarded in insurance bad faith cases so I note with interest that yesterday the Oregon Court of Appeals overturned a $100 million punitive damages award in a tobacco case.
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Mississippi homeowners accuse State Farm of one-size-fits-all investigation of Katrina damage
Mississippi Gulf Coast homeowners have accused State Farm Insurance in a new lawsuit of pressuring adjusters and engineers to rely on an engineering report alleging Katrina's storm surge arrived before its windd did any damage reports MSNBC.
Posted In Construction Law , Hurricane Katrina , Insurance , Insurance Bad Faith , Insurance CoverageComments / Questions (0) | Permalink
Insurers bail out on coastal communities
On the eve of hurricane season home insurers are cancelling policies or refusing to write new ones in many coastal communities reports the Clarion Ledger.
>> Continue Reading Posted In Construction Law , Hurricane Katrina , Insurance , Insurance Bad Faith , Insurance Coverage , Mississippi Construction LawComments / Questions (0) | Permalink
Bifurcation of the trial required in insurance bad faith cases
Evidence relevant only to the question of bad faith may only be heard by the jury in the second phase of a bifurcated trial, a panel of the Mississippi Supreme Court held last week. Link
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Engineer says his signature forged on Katrina insurance damage report
The SunHerald reports on an engineer's charge that his findings were altered, his name forged and whole exhibits removed from reports he prepared for use by an insurer in deciding whether hurricane damage was caused by wind or storm surge.
Posted In Hurricane Katrina , Insurance , Insurance Bad Faith , Insurance CoverageComments / Questions (0) | Permalink
Enough is enough says a federal judge
In four paragraphs a federal trial judge disposed of 19 motions in an insurance bad faith case.
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Katrina Insurance battle begins in earnest in Mississippi
MSNBC outlines the emerging litigation, which includes (i) Attorney General Hood Jim Hood's ominibus case, (ii) Richard "Dickie' Scrugg's suits for Senator Lott, Representative Taylor and a host of others, (iii) Richard Phillips' class action and (iv) others attorneys suits on behalf of individual owners.
Posted In Hurricane Katrina , Insurance , Insurance Bad Faith , Insurance CoverageComments / Questions (0) | Permalink
Back in the saddle
I took a break from blogging to prepare for trial in a bad faith insurance case. The case settled last week on terms that made my client happy, so I'm back and will try to make up in coming weeks for not posting so long.
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