In an unpublished two page decision filed August 11, 2009, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit upheld a $21.6 million jury verdict in favor of a New Orleans grocer with approximately $1 million in bad faith damages.
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Catastrophe Claims
Katrina: $5.5 Million in Damages Awarded by Texas Federal Court to an Insured Under a Second-Layer Excess Insurance Policy Regardless of Whether the Underlying Insurers Properly Paid their Limits
By Troutman Pepper Locke on
On July 9, 2009, a Texas federal court awarded in excess of $5.5 million in damages to an insured under a second-layer excess insurance policy, for claims arising out of Hurricane Katrina related damage. One of the main issues in contention was whether the second-layer excess insurer’s liability attached even if the underlying insurers had paid out their full limits of liability because they did not correctly determine coverage.
Louisiana Appeals Court Increases Trial Court Award to $1.3 Million in Statutory Penalties in Katrina Bad Faith Case
A state appellate court in Louisiana recently increased a trial court’s award against an insurer in connection with a Hurricane Katrina-related bad faith claim, finding that the trial court had misinterpreted the statutory penalties available to the plaintiff.
Katrina: Mississippi Supreme Court Hears First Katrina Wind v. Water Insurance Dispute
By Troutman Pepper Locke on
On June 9, 2009, oral arguments took place in Corban v. USAA Insurance Company, the first Katrina wind v. water insurance dispute heard by the Mississippi Supreme Court.
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Katrina: Insurance Class Allegations Stricken in In re Katrina Canal Breaches Consolidated Litigation
By Troutman Pepper Locke on
On June 16, 2009, U.S. District Court Judge Stanwood R. Duval Jr. granted a request by insurers to strike class allegations asserted in In re Katrina Canal Breaches Consolidated Litigation (click here for a copy of the Order). Judge Duval reasoned that the claims required individualized fact-specific inquiries which made them inappropriate for class certification.
Alabama Federal Court: Third-Party Beneficiary to Insurance Policy May Not Pursue Bad Faith Claim
Last month, a federal district court in Alabama ruled, as a matter of first impression that, under Alabama law, a litigant seeking to pursue an insurance bad faith claim against an insurer must have a direct contractual relationship with that insurer.
UPDATE: Significant Hurricane Katrina-Related Trial Concluded in Louisiana Federal Court
By Troutman Pepper Locke on
Posted in Catastrophe Claims, United States
The trial involving claims that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was negligent in its maintenance of the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet (MRGO), which we discussed here, concluded on May 14, 2009. Judge Stanwood Duval, Jr. of the United States District Court, Eastern District of Louisiana, is expected to issue his ruling this summer in this non-jury trial.
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New Jersey Senate Committee Begins Review of Catastrophe Fund Bill
By Troutman Pepper Locke on
Last week, the New Jersey Senate Commerce Committee began its review of the New Jersey Consumer Catastrophe Preparedness and Protection Act, S. 2089 (the “Bill”), by hearing testimony from representatives of the insurance industry and first responders. We previously reported about a version of the Bill that was introduced last year, but was never enacted. …
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Significant Hurricane Katrina-Related Trial Under Way in Louisiana Federal Court
By Troutman Pepper Locke on
A trial involving claims that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was negligent in its maintenance of the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet began recently in Louisiana federal court. (for a prior blog post regarding these claims, please click here). The non-jury trial, in which Judge Stanwood Duval, Jr. will preside, is expected to last approximately four weeks. …
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The Rise of Hurricane Ike-Related Litigation
By Troutman Pepper Locke on
Posted in Catastrophe Claims, United States
Just as Hurricane Katrina-related coverage litigation is winding down (click here for our posts about Katrina coverage litigation), several Hurricane Ike-related coverage lawsuits were recently filed in Texas as reported in this article in The Southeast Texas Record.