South Carolina Lawyers Weekly

Apr 4, 2014

Insurance – Auto – Florida Policy – Family Member Exclusion – UIM

Green v. United States Automobile Association Auto & Property Insurance Co. (Lawyers Weekly No. 010-033-14, 5 pp.) (Jean Hoefer Toal, Ch.J.) Appealed from Beaufort County Circuit Court (Carmen Mullen, J.) […]

Mar 26, 2014

Insurance – Homeowners – Sexual Assault – Joint Obligations Provision – First Impression – Declaratory Judgment

Allstate Indemnity Co. v. Tilmon (Lawyers Weekly No. 002-070-14, 14 pp.) (J. Michelle Childs, J.) 1:13-cv-00690; D.S.C. Holding: The “joint obligations” provision in plaintiff’s homeowners’ insurance policy makes one insured’s […]

Feb 27, 2014

Insurance – No Coverage for $10.8M Loss from Explosion

Millennium Inorganic Chemicals Ltd. v. Nat’l Union Fire Ins. Co. of Pittsburgh, Pa. (Lawyers Weekly No. 14-01-0180, 34 pp.) (Agee, J.) No. 13-1194, Feb. 20, 2014; USDC at Baltimore, Md. […]

Feb 25, 2014

Insurance – CGL – ‘Volunteer Labor’ – Business Associate – Tree Removal

Canopius US Insurance, Inc. v. Keefe (Lawyers Weekly No. 002-050-14, 11 pp.) (R. Bryan Harwell, J.) 4:12-cv-03316; D.S.C. Holding: Where defendant and plaintiff’s policyholder had complementary businesses (i.e. the policyholder […]

Jan 22, 2014

Insurance – Tort/Negligence – Bad Faith Claim – Reasonable Investigation

Watson v. Foremost Signature Insurance Co. (Lawyers Weekly No. 002-018-14, 5 pp.) (David C. Norton, J.) 2:13-cv-00301; D.S.C. Holding: Plaintiff has not shown that the defendant-insurer acted in bad faith […]

Jan 15, 2014

Insurance – CGL – Damages – Attorneys’ Fee Claim — Church Split – Advertising Injury

Episcopal Church in South Carolina v. Church Insurance Company of Vermont (Lawyers Weekly No. 002-008-14, 17 pp.) (Patrick Michael Duffy, J.) 2:13-cv-02475; D.S.C. Holding: The defendant-insurer only has a duty […]

Dec 13, 2013

Insurance – Auto – UIM – Parents’ Vehicles – Separate Policy – Exclusion

Carter v. Standard Fire Insurance Co A son who lived with his parents and was injured while a passenger in his own car – which he owned with his mother but insured with a different insurance company than the company that insured his parents’ three cars – may stack the underinsured motorist coverage from his parents’ policy onto the UIM coverage from his policy, despite an exclusio[...]

Dec 4, 2013

Insurance – Auto – UIM — Domestic Relations – Common Law Marriage – Rebutted Presumption – No Stacking

Motsinger v. Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co Although plaintiff showed that she and William Workman exchanged rings in a family-only ceremony and then held themselves out to friends as husband and wife, the presumption in favor of the couple’s common law marriage was rebutted by evidence that they did not intend to be married:

Nov 12, 2013

Insurance – Management Liability Policy – Exclusion — Breach of Express Contract – SSA Representative Payee

Singletary v. Beazley Insurance Co. The parties’ management liability policy expressly excluded coverage for “damages representing amounts allegedly owed” under an express contract. Plaintiffs had to complete a Form SSA-11 in order to become a representative payee, and plaintiffs do not dispute that Form SSA-11 created a contract between plaintiff Family Assistance Management Servi[...]

Nov 4, 2013

Insurance – Garage Policy – Watercraft Operation Exclusion – Service & Repair Exception – Test Drive – Co-Worker’s Joy Ride – Tort/Negligence – Wrongful Death

Auto-Owners Insurance Co. v. Newsome Where the decedent was employed by the insured to clean and detail vehicles, and where he simply went along for the ride when a boat was being test-driven after major repairs, the decedent’s boating-accident injuries did not arise out of his employment.

Nov 4, 2013

Insurance – Tort/Negligence – Bad Faith – Contract — Implied Warranty of Good Faith & Fair Dealing – Civil Practice – Pleadings – Affirmative Defenses

Sentry Select Insurance Co. v. Guess Farm Equipment, Inc. : Bad faith and breach of the implied warranty of good faith and fair dealing are not separate causes of action; rather, all bad faith actions arise out of the implied warranty of good faith and fair dealing.

Oct 9, 2013

Insurance – Contractors’ Business Owners Policy – Duty to Defend & Indemnify – Attorney’s Fees – Collateral Source Rule – First Impression

Crossmann Communities of North Carolina, Inc. v. Harleysville Mutual Insurance Co Several insurance companies had a duty to defend a developer in underlying litigation. Because that duty arose out of contract, the collateral source rule does not apply. The amount that Harleysville Mutual Insurance Co. owes the developer for defense costs will be reduced by the amount that other insurance [...]