Insurance « Virginia Lawyers Weekly

Carrier Covers Part of Lead-Paint Judgment

By Deborah Elkins
Published: February 8, 2012
Tags: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Insurance, Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III

In determining insurance coverage for a Baltimore child who won a $850,000 judgment for lead paint injuries against two defendants – a realty company and the property owner that bought the house in which the child lived – the 4th Circuit says the realty company’s insurance contract requires the carrier to pay 40 percent of [...]

Carrier Must Defend Under ‘Garage Operations’ Clause

By Deborah Elkins
Published: December 15, 2011
Tags: Insurance, Judge Anthony J. Trenga, U.S. District Court - Eastern District

Although the driver of a car owned by Cowles Nissan was intoxicated when he struck and killed a pedestrian, an Alexandria U.S. District Court predicts the Virginia Supreme Court would interpret an insurance policy’s “garage operations provision” to require the insurance carrier on the owner’s commercial garage policy to defend the state court wrongful death [...]

Settlement Breach Claim Not ‘Direct Action’

By Deborah Elkins
Published: November 30, 2011
Tags: Insurance, Judge T.S. Ellis III, U.S. District Court - Eastern District

A defendant insurance company sued for allegedly reneging on a settlement with plaintiffs, a married couple injured in an auto accident, may remove their suit to federal court on diversity grounds, says an Alexandria U.S. District Court; this lawsuit is not a “direct action” against an insurer under 28 U.S.C. § 1332(c)(1).
Plaintiffs claim they accepted [...]

Woman can’t tap UIM policy of business

By Paul Fletcher
Published: November 22, 2011
Tags: Federal Courts, Insurance, Judge Dennis Dohnal

After Tawny Grossberg was injured in a car wreck in 2005, a Richmond jury gave her a $615,000 verdict against the driver who hit her, plus $123,000 in interest.
The defendant’s carrier paid its limits — $300,000.
To recoup the remaining money, Grossberg sought to tap the underinsured motorist policy maintained by her husband’s business, a popular [...]

Insured Covered for Lost Business Income

By Deborah Elkins
Published: November 22, 2011
Tags: Insurance, Judge Liam O'Grady, U.S. District Court - Eastern District

In this litigation over insurance coverage for a shopping center fire, an Alexandria U.S. District Court says defendant National Surety Company owes plaintiff shopping center $623,616 for breach of contract for additional coverage of lost business income, based on all the steps Yorktowne took to get its former tenant to resume operations at the shopping [...]

No Parol Evidence on Underwriting Terms

By Deborah Elkins
Published: November 22, 2011
Tags: Insurance, Judge Robert E. Payne, U.S. District Court - Eastern District

In a mortgage lender’s suit against an insurance company that declined to cover losses on certain kinds of mortgage loans, a Richmond U.S. District Court grants the lender’s motion to preclude the insurance company from introducing parol evidence to support its claims of what the parties intended in their insurance contract.
The lender, SunTrust Mortgage (ST), [...]

No UIM Coverage for Wife Under Business Policy

By Deborah Elkins
Published: November 22, 2011
Tags: Insurance, Judge Dennis Dohnal, U.S. District Court - Eastern District

A woman injured in an automobile accident who collected $300,000 of a $738,000 judgment from the other driver could not collect the balance in UM/UIM coverage from a commercial insurance policy issued to her husband’s Richmond restaurant because she is not a “family member” of the named insured, which is the restaurant; a Richmond U.S. [...]

Carrier Has Duty to Defend in Pool Drowning Case

By Deborah Elkins
Published: November 22, 2011
Tags: Insurance, Judge T.S. Ellis III, U.S. District Court - Eastern District

In this declaratory judgment action filed against a CGL carrier that refused to defend a pool company in a $10 million wrongful death suit filed by the parents of a child who drowned, an Alexandria U.S. District Court looks to parol evidence to determine who is the intended entity to be insured, and says the [...]

Lender Wins Fees in Contest with Law Firm

By Deborah Elkins
Published: November 22, 2011
Tags: Insurance, Judge Leonie Brinkema, U.S. District Court - Eastern District

In this dispute over the payment of insurance and takings proceeds, along with a claim for recovery of attorney’s fees incurred in an earlier insurance coverage action in this district, the Alexandria U.S. District Court grants summary judgment to defendant insurance carrier, which is entitled to recovery under the terms of a deed of trust. [...]

‘Builder’s Risk’ Endorsement Not Ambiguous

By Deborah Elkins
Published: November 17, 2011
Tags: Insurance, Judge Henry E. Hudson, U.S. District Court - Eastern District

Plaintiff insurance company wins partial summary judgment in a declaratory judgment action denying coverage for theft of construction materials from defendant policyholder’s home, which they were rebuilding after damage by a fire; the Richmond U.S. District Court says the policy’s Builder’s Risk Endorsement is not ambiguous and limits the carrier’s exposure to the total value [...]

Virginia Lawyers Weekly