Case Law Summary
North Pointe Ins. Co. v. Tomas North Pointe Ins. Co. v. Tomas, No. 3D08-2245, ___ So. 3d ___ (Fla. 3d DCA, August 26, 2009)
The recent case of North Pointe Insurance Company v. Tomas illustrates why many insurers who wrongfully fail to pay a claim choose to unnecessarily delay payment rather than submit an outright denial. Corban v. USAA Corban v. USAA, No. 2008-IA-00645-SCT, ___ So. 3d ___, (Miss., October 8, 2009)
In Corban, the Supreme Court of Mississippi addressed three issues that were the focal point of much of the Katrina litigation.
(1) Whether “storm surge” is included in a “water damage” exclusion.
(2) The interpretation and application of an Anticoncurrent Causation Clause .
(3) Which party bears the burden of proof. Coconut Key Homeowners Ass'n v. Lexington Ins. Co. Coconut Key Homeowners Ass’n, Inc. v. Lexington Ins. Co., No. 08-60640, ___ F. Supp. 2d ___ (S.D. Fla., August 28, 2009)
Coconut Key Homeowners Association, Inc., brought suit after its insurer, Lexington Insurance Company, allegedly failed to pay for covered losses incurred as a result of Hurricane Wilma. Liebel v. Nationwide Ins. Co. of Florida Liebel v. Nationwide Ins. Co. of Florida, No. 4D08-3356, ___ So. 3d ___, (Fla. 4th DCA, October 7, 2009)
On February 14, 2003, Liebel noticed a wide gap between the floor and the wall in her living room. Over the following two and a half weeks, Liebel's living room floor began to sag and bend, and then every room of the home detached from the walls, and a wide crack formed in the middle of the living room. It turned out that the crack caused a ruptured water line under Liebel's home, and the escaping water caused the soil beneath the home to erode, causing the foundation to settle, and the damage to Liebel's home. Liebel sought coverage for the damage under her all-risk homeowner's insurance policy with Nationwide. FIGA v. Castilla Florida Insurance Guaranty Association, Inc. v. Castilla, No. 4D09-103, ___ So. 3d ___ (Fla. 4th DCA, September 30, 2009)
The Castillas filed an insurance claim with Florida Preferred Property Insurance Company (PPI), alleging their home was damaged by Hurricane Wilma in October, 2005. PPI issued a check for the claim, but the Castillas found it insufficient and objected. PPI was liquidated and taken over by FIGA, and the Castillas raised their claim with FIGA. FIGA inspected the property and denied their claim, finding that the damages were not caused by Wilma. Moffett v. Computer Sciences Corp. Moffett v. Computer Sciences Corp., No. 05-1547, ___ F. Supp. 2d ___ (D. Md., July 6, 2009)
The plaintiffs in this case were Maryland residents seeking to recover damages for flood losses caused by Hurricane Isabel on September 18, 2003. They were insured under the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). Under the terms of the Standard Flood Insurance Policy, proofs of loss had to be filed within 60 days of the date of loss, by November 17, 2003. On October 28, 2003, FEMA notified all potentially affected insureds that the deadline for filing proofs of loss was extended until January 17, 2004. The plaintiffs missed the deadline and then requested waivers of the deadline, which FEMA denied. The issue before the Court was whether it had authority to review FEMA's decisions regarding the plaintiffs' individual requests for waiver of the deadline to file proofs of loss. |
Attorney Q and A
Sinkholes and the Neutral Evaluation Process: A conversation with Attorney Craig Kubiak  Q. What is a sinkhole?
A depression in a karst area, commonly with a circular pattern. Its drainage is subterranean, its size is measured in meter or tens of meters, and it is commonly funnel-shaped.
In layperson’s terms, when a sinkhole forms, it causes ground “subsidence,” which means there is a sudden sinking or gradual downward settling of the earth’s surface with little or no horizontal motion. |
Items of Interest
Upcoming Florida Public Adjuster Events • NAPIA First Party Claims Conference: October 26-27, 2009, Crown Plaza Hotel, Warwick (Providence), Rhode Island
• FAPIA Winter 2010 Conference: January 10-12, 2010, Marriott Waterside Hotel, Tampa, Florida
• NAPIA Mid-Year Meeting: December 3-5, 2009, Las Vegas, Nevada
Property Insurance Coverage Law Blog |
Merlin Law Group in the News
Merlin Law Group is pleased to announce the recent hiring of attorney William “Corey” Harris Corey received his J.D. from the University of Florida and will be practicing out of the firm’s Tampa office, focused on Commercial and Residential Property Insurance Claims, First Party Property Insurance, Insurance Bad Faith and Third Party Insurance Claims.
QBE Settles Over Hurricane Condo Damage The press reported when QBE Insurance Corp. settled an insurance dispute with a Florida condominium association that alleged the insurance company acted in bad faith when it failed to fully cover damage from Hurricane Wilma in 2005. The association, Dorset House Condominium Association, was represented by Merlin Law Group attorney Amy Boggs, who practices in the firm’s Tampa, Florida, office.
Read the article here…
Merlin Attorney Contributes to Trial Magazine Article Attorney David Pettinato contributed to an article in the current issue of Trial magazine. In the article, he writes on the Loss Payment Clause, a fairly standard provision found in all commercial and residential insurance policies.
David is currently Co-Chair of the American Association of Justice’s Bad Faith Litigation Group.
The Merlin Law Group is very proud of what David has accomplished and for his continued development as a leading advocate for policyholders.
Read the Trial magazine article here... |
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