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. The Supreme Court of Virginia decided an interesting question in the context of a lawyer’s professional liability policy. In Bartolomucci v. Federal Ins. Co., 770 S.E.2d 451 (2015), an attorney attempted to get automobile liability coverage by claiming that when …
In 2011, the Montana Supreme Court issued its decision in Steadele v. Colony Ins. Co., 2011 MT 208, 361 Mont. 459, 260 P.3d 145 (2011) concluding that compliance with the notice requirement in an insurance policy was a condition precedent …
An interesting question recently came before the Georgia Supreme Court. In Piedmont Office Realty Trust, Inc. v. XL Specialty Ins. Co., 771 S.E.2d 864 (Ga. 2015), the insured Piedmont Office Realty Trust, Inc. (Piedmont) had purchased and maintained two insurance …
The New Jersey Supreme Court recently differentiated between the “entire controversy doctrine” and the doctrine of res judicata in determining whether the insured’s bad faith claim arising out of an uninsured motorist situation was barred. The insured was injured in …
Jurisdictions are split on the question of whether commercial general liability policies require matching of damaged physical property beyond the repair of the damaged property. Compare, e.g., Cedar Bluff Townhome Condo. Ass’n, Inc. v. American Family Mut. Ins. Co., 2013 …
In Abbey/Land, LLC v. Interstate Mechanical, Inc., 378 Mont. 372, 345 P.3d 1032 (2015), the Court held that an insurance company has the right under Montana law to intervene in order to present its arguments and evidence concerning the reasonableness …
In the context of workers’ compensation, there are two classifications of employees: (1) actual employees; and, (2) statutory employees. A contractor who sublets part of its work to a subcontractor develops a statutory employment relationship with the employees of that …
Louisiana is among a small number of states that have enacted anti-annulment statutes applying to all liability insurance policies, and not just automobile liability insurance policies. LA. R.S. § 22:262 provides: “No insurance contract insuring against loss or damage through …
The Florida Supreme Court recently considered whether the original policyholder’s signed rejection form, rejecting higher limits of UM coverage, applied to the original insured’s daughter who later became the sole named insured under the policy. In Chase v. Horace Mann …
The Illinois Supreme Court recently held that the innocent insured doctrine was inapplicable to prevent rescission for an attorney’s misrepresentation in a renewal application notwithstanding the misrepresentation was made without the innocent partner’s knowledge. In Illinois State Bar Ass’n Mut. …