Tag: Tennessee

General

Can You Depreciate Labor? Tennessee Supreme Court Says No.

When calculating the actual cash value (ACV) amount of property damage, the labor component cannot be depreciated according to the Tennessee Supreme Court in a unanimous decision answering a certified question.  Lammert, et. al v. Auto-Owners (Mutual) Ins. Co., 2019 WL 1592687 (Tenn. April 15, 2019).

At issue were two homeowner policies, one policy which contained a definition of ACV and the other which did not, but neither policy explicitly stated whether labor costs were included within the scope of depreciation. While it was …

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Duty to Defend

Moldy Water Keep on Rollin’: Mold Exclusion Does Not Apply to Claims Based on Mold-Infested Water

In Acuity v. Reed & Associates of Tennessee, LLC, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 109412 (W.D. Tenn. August 19, 2015), the United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee determined that an insurer had the duty to defend its policyholder in a case involving mold, even though the subject policy included a Fungi or Bacteria Exclusion (“Mold Exclusion”).  The court found that allegations of moldy water fell within an exception to the Mold Exclusion as a “product” or “good” “intended for bodily consumption.”  …

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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 …

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