Steven Plitt is the current successor author to Couch on Insurance, 3d. He maintains a national coverage practice with The Cavanagh Law Firm. He has been listed continuously as one of Arizona's 50 lawyers by Southwest Super Lawyers. He can be reached splitt@cavanaghlaw.com. To read additional articles by Steven Plitt, go to www.insuranceexpertplitt.com. In Citizen’s Property Ins. Corp. v. Perdido Sun Condominium Ass’n, Inc., 164 So.3d 663 (Fla. 2015), the Florida Supreme Court held that Citizens Property Insurance Corporation, a state-created entity that provided property insurance, was immune from liability for statutory first-party …
Numerous jurisdictions have recognized an insured’s right to independent counsel where a conflict of interest exists between the insured and the insurance company (Alaska, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New …
Most jurisdictions have adopted equitable subrogation. Plitt & Plitt, Practical Tools for Handling Insurance Cases, § 7:7 (Thomson Reuters 2011) (Alaska, Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, …
The issue of spoliation of evidence is becoming increasingly problematic for insurance companies. The Louisiana Supreme Court recently considered the question of whether an insurer can be held liable for negligent spoliation of evidence when it failed to preserve a …
The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals in SRM, Inc. v. Great American Ins. Co., 2015 WL 5011719 (10th Cir., Aug. 25, 2015), recently considered whether excess insurers, under Oklahoma law, were required to proactively initiate settlement discussions before the primary …
The Texas Supreme Court in JAW the Point, LLC v. Lexington Ins. Co., 460 S.W.3d 597 (Tex. 2015) held, on first impression, that losses incurred in demolishing and rebuilding property damage resulting from Hurricane Ike to comply with city ordinances …
Liability insurance policies typically have two main components: defense and indemnity. North American Specialty Ins. Co. v. Royal Surplus Lines Ins. Co., 541 F.3d 552, 559 (5th Cir. 2008). Most liability policies that are issued provide for defense costs to …
Reverse bad faith refers to a cause of action which would allow the insurance company to assert a counterclaim for affirmative relief against an insured who brought a frivolous, bad faith action. Steven Plitt and Jordan R. Plitt, 1 Practical …
So, the tenants have moved out and you’ve turned off the gas and electric utilities. However a fire burns the house down. You turn the claim over to your insurance company for coverage. The insurance company investigates the claim and …
Homeowner policies contain a vacancy exclusion. Under the terms of the standard vacancy exclusion, damage caused by “vandalism and malicious mischief” are excluded from coverage. However, is arson encompassed within the phrase “vandalism and malicious mischief?” That issue was recently …