ambiguous policy language News

Viewpoint: Videotaping of Child in Shower is ‘Sexual Misconduct’ Excluded by Policy

Plaintiffs, R.S. and D.S. filed a lawsuit against a homeowner, Shawn Conrad, in Yellowstone County, Montana. The case involved a minor who took a shower at Conrad’s home. The female minor discovered hidden cameras that had been placed in the …

‘Ambiguous’ Flood Deductible May Cost Carriers That Insured New Orleans Hotel

The redevelopment of the historic Jung Hotel and Residences in downtown New Orleans flooded four times before renovations were complete. The two insurers that issued a builder’s risk policy for the project thought they had limited their risk, but a …

Insurers Win Most — But Not All — Covid Business-Loss Lawsuits

In the multibillion-dollar fight over insurance coverage for pandemic-related business losses, a Florida gynecologist succeeded where more than a dozen professional baseball teams and an iconic Hollywood restaurant failed. Since Covid-19 sparked government-ordered shutdowns in March, judges have dismissed more …

N.C. High Court: Actual Cash Value Includes Depreciation for Labor Costs

An insurer whose policy covers the “actual cash value” of a property may deduct for depreciation of labor costs when it calculates the amount of the loss, the North Carolina Supreme Court ruled. The court noted that the question of …

Ambiguous Grant Of Collapse Coverage Construed In Policyholder’s Favor

Invoking the familiar insurance contract interpretation doctrine of California and other jurisdictions, that truly ambiguous policy wording must be construed against the insurer drafting it, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California decided on August 16, 2018 …

Auto Policy Delivery or Business Use Exclusion Held Ambiguous

Twice in the last four years American Access Casualty Company, a non-standard private passenger automobile insurer based in Downers Grove, Ill., has been judicially warned in decisions of intermediate appellate courts of two different states (Illinois and Indiana) that its …

Conflict Between Breadth of CGL AI Coverage And Subcontract Requiring it Doesn’t Create Policy Ambiguity

An intermediate Illinois state appellate court has rejected an additional insured’s argument that contradictions between a building subcontract and a CGL policy additional insured endorsement gave rise to ambiguity in the policy, but the insurer must defend the additional insured …