Jonathan Schapp, Author at The Insurance & Reinsurance Report

April 2, 2020 Extra-Contractual

Northern District of New York Grants 12(b)(6) Motion Dismissing Extra-Contractual Damages

On March 30, 2020, Judge Lawrence E. Kahn of the Northern District of New York granted a carrier’s 12(b)(6) motion seeking dismissal of the insured’s extra-contractual claims. The case was filed by a homeowner seeking payment for alleged water damages at her home. She alleged that the water damage loss occurred January 6, 2017, but acknowledged that she had not reported the claim until a year later.

Plaintiff alleged that the carrier wrongfully denied her claim, although the carrier pointed out that it never actually …

December 12, 2017 Commercial General Liability

Do Insurers Have an Interest in Interest?

“In some states, interest can be a significant portion of a judgement,” Goldberg Segalla partners Jonathan Schapp and Michael T. Glascott explain. “Although it is not generally expected that interest on a judgment falls within the coverage provided under a commercial general liability policy, many policies contain a Supplementary Payment provision which could give rise to an obligation to reimburse such interest.”

In a new article for Claims Journal, Jon and Mike take an in-depth look at how interest accrues, prejudgment and post-judgment interest, …

November 4, 2015 Automobile Coverage

Supreme Court of Illinois Limits Liability of Self-Insured Car Rental Company

On October 8, 2015, in DeShaw Nelson v. Donald Artley, the Illinois Supreme Court overturned a ruling by the First District Appellate Court that ordered a car rental company to pay an accident victim $600,000 as a result of damages allegedly sustained in an automobile accident involving a car owned by the rental company and driven by an operator without his own insurance. At issue in DeShawn was the extent of financial liability that a self-insuring rental car company faces where a default judgment …

May 29, 2015 Uncategorized

No Sanctions for Policyholder Discovery Abuses

An insurer brought a claim for sanctions in dismissing a property owner’s lawsuit over coverage for damage from Hurricane Ike over discovery abuses. The insurer sought what is commonly known in Texas as “death-penalty” sanctions over the discovery abuses.

The lower court had granted the sanctions, but this court found that the trial court had imposed excessive sanctions when it dismissed the plaintiff’s pleadings against the insurer and claims adjuster. This court determined that, while the purported discovery sanctions may be sanction-able, the conduct at …

May 28, 2015 Emerging Issues

Insurers’ Duty of Good Faith Continues After the Filing of a Lawsuit

In Am. Nat’l Prop. & Cas. Co. v. Stutte, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 55280 (E.D. Tenn. Apr. 28, 2015), a federal court in Tennessee recently ruled that a finding of bad faith can be based on decisions made by the insurer after a declaratory action has been filed.

The claim at issue in this litigation related to the loss of the insured’s home in a fire. The insured made a claim on their policy and the subsequent investigation into the circumstances of the fire …

May 8, 2015 Bad Faith and Extra-Contractual Liability

Trial Court Judge Erred in Requiring Insurer to Produce Claim Files in Bad Faith Lawsuit

The South Dakota Supreme Court found that an insurer did not waive its attorney-client privilege and, thus, was not required to produce 200 unredacted workers’ compensation claim files in a bad faith lawsuit. The Supreme Court found that the trial court judge erred in allowing the evidence in by not conducting an in camera inspection of the files before finding that the insurer had implicitly waived its attorney-client privilege regard its claim files.

This case involved a policyholder that sued his employer and the workers’ …

April 9, 2015 Excess Insurance

Mississippi District Court Finds Other Insurance Provisions Cancel Each Other Out

In EMJ Corp. v. Hudson Specialty Ins. Co., (2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 29781, 14-15, N.D. Miss. Mar. 11, 2015) the plaintiffs, EMJ Corporation and Westchester Fire Insurance Company, brought this declaratory judgment action against Defendant Hudson Specialty Insurance Company. They were seeking a declaration that Westchester was entitled to contribution from Hudson Specialty for the amount Westchester paid on behalf of EMJ in a settlement of an underlying personal injury action.

In partially granting the defendant’s motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict and denying …

March 27, 2015 Uncategorized

The Insurer Is In Control: California District Court Upholds Insurer’s Right To Control Settlement and Conduct Its Due Diligence with Respect To a Coverage Investigation

In Travelers Property Casualty Co. of America v. Kaufman & Broad Monterey Bay, Inc., 2015 WL 581528 (N.D. Cal. Feb. 11, 2015), Travelers had issued commercial general liability insurance policies to Norcraft. The defendants were named as additional insureds on the policies. The defendants were sued for claims arising out of a residential development project. The defendants tendered their defense of the claims to Travelers, which accepted the tender and appointed counsel for the defendants. Travelers and the defendants asserted claims against each other …

January 5, 2015 Professional Liability

Settlement of Ill-Gotten Gains Suit Does Not Constitute Repayment or Restitution

On Tuesday, December 16, in U.S. Bank Nat. Ass’n v. Indian Harbor Ins. Co., 2014 WL 7183851 (D. Minn. Dec. 16, 2014), the US District Court for the District of Minnesota granted US Bank’s summary judgment motion, finding insurance coverage in an overdraft-fee dispute settlement.

The three underlying class action lawsuits were filed against US Bank National Association and US Bancorp by plaintiffs claiming the bank unlawfully inflated customers’ overdraft fees. The banks provided customers with account overdraft protection and charged a fee for each …

December 17, 2014 Automobile Coverage

Minnesota Court Finds Specific Provisions In Policy Exclusion Govern Over More General Follow Form Provisions

This insurance coverage action stemmed from an underlying motor vehicle accident where Arnold Paster’s vehicle (driven by Paster and owned by Paster Enterprises) collided with Jerome G. Wind’s motorcycle. Wind sought coverage for his injuries from Paster Enterprises’ commercial automobile carrier, Phoenix Insurance Co.’s (Phoenix) its umbrella carrier Great American Insurance Co. (Great American), and Paster’s personal automobile carrier Commerce & Industry Insurance Co. (Commerce) and his personal excess liability carrier, Chartis Property Casualty Co. (Chartis).

In analyzing cross-motions for summary judgment by plaintiffs Commerce …