Where the Virginia plaintiff sued the Illinois insurer for failure to pay insurance benefits, and sought over $142,000 in damages, the suit was properly removed to federal court under diversity jurisdiction and would remain there despite the plaintiff’s post-removal reduction ...

Tagged with: Insurance Judge M. Hannah Lauck U.S. District Court - Eastern District

Where the insurer’s investigation was not reasonable and the denial of coverage was not supported by the evidence, the insurer acted in bad faith, resulting in the policyholder being awarded its attorneys’ fees. Background This case, which involves a dispute ...

Tagged with: Insurance Judge Liam O'Grady U.S. District Court - Eastern District

Where a plaintiff sued an insurance company after he had already obtained a judgment against the wrongdoer alleged to be covered under the insurance company’s policy, the insurance company did not assume the citizenship of the purported insured and the ...

Tagged with: Insurance Judge John A. Gibney Jr. U.S. District Court - Eastern District

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 ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Insurance Judge James A. Wynn Jr.

Where medical testing demonstrated that a chef was capable of performing work in three alternative occupations with an earning capacity of at least 60% of what he had earned, an insurance company properly ended his disability benefits offered by his ...

Tagged with: Insurance Judge Claude M. Hilton U.S. District Court - Eastern District

A judge’s discovery sanctions will hobble a seagoing security company in its bid for insurance coverage after its ship and crew were seized by Indian authorities. The sanctions include preclusion of evidence beyond the company’s limited discovery responses and an ...

Tagged with: Insurance Judge Theresa C. Buchanan U.S. District Court - Eastern District

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 ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Insurance Judge Robert B. King

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 ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Insurance Judge G. Steven Agee

An insurance company was not required to defend and indemnify its insured in a trademark and trade dress infringement lawsuit because the insurance policy included a provision excluding coverage for such lawsuits that was unambiguous and explicitly superseded any provisions ...

Tagged with: Insurance Judge Norman K. Moon U.S. District Court - Western District

By Bill Cresenzo BridgeTower Media Newswires An insurance company that denied benefits to a disabled plant manager in the face of overwhelming evidence of his total disability has been rebuked sharply by the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals News Insurance Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III