Because the Church Insurance Co. of Vermont (CIC-VT) lacks a certificate of authority to do business in South Carolina, CIC-VT may not bring a declaratory judgment counterclaim in this action. The court grants The Episcopal Church in South Carolina’s (TECSC’s) ...
Read More »Insurance Declaratory judgment ruling was premature
Where an insurance provider asked whether it must pay a judgment against one party if another party prevailed in the underlying state court case and the district court resolved issues as part of its declaratory judgment ruling, that ruling was ...
Read More »Insurance Policy applies where worker injured by third party
Where an employee was injured on the job by the owner of the home that was under construction, his suit against the owner is not precluded by the worker’s compensation exclusion or the employee indemnification and employer’s liability exclusion in ...
Read More »Insurance Civil Practice – Judicial Estoppel – Faulty Work
In a prior action, the plaintiff-project owner asserted that the defendant-contractor’s work was faulty; in the present action, the owner asserts that the defendant-insurer wrongly denied its claim under the faulty workmanship exclusion in their policy. Because the court did ...
Read More »Insurance Automobile Insurance – Underinsured Motorist Coverage – Excluded Driver Statute – Resident Relative
Where the intention of the excluded driver statute was to allow insured to reduce their coverages and therefore the premiums they paid by expressly excluding resident relatives that would otherwise be included in coverage, it was not a violation of ...
Read More »Insurance Damages from subcontractor’s faulty work not covered by policy
Where a subcontractor’s faulty excavation work on a building construction project caused a delay in the project and required the subcontractor to perform significant remediation work, the resulting damages incurred by the site owner and general contractor were not covered ...
Read More »Insurance ‘Prior publication’ exclusion does not excuse duty to defend
Where the pleadings in the underlying suit alleged offensive publications were made during the policy period that differed in substance from those published before commencement of coverage, the “prior publication” exclusion did not obviate insurer’s duty to defend. Background In ...
Read More »Insurance Auto – Personal Injury Protection – Anti-Setoff Statute – Workers’ Compensation
The parties’ auto insurance policy provides for $5,000 in no-fault personal injury protection (PIP). Although all of the injured plaintiff’s medical bills were paid by workers’ compensation benefits, and despite a “Coordination” policy provision saying PIP coverage is excess over ...
Read More »Insurance Employer as joint insurance plan administrator had fiduciary duty
An employer who allegedly told a beneficiary it would pay death benefits, after the life insurance carrier denied the claim, has been sued by the beneficiary who alleges she relied on the promises to her detriment. Background According to the ...
Read More »Insurance Auto – Notice Provision – Above-Minimum Coverage – Prejudice
As most auto insurance policies do, the defendant-insurer’s policy required its insured to promptly notify it of claims; nevertheless, the insured tortfeasor did not notify the insurer until more than 18 months after a default judgment was entered against the ...
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