A loss payee who owns both a first loan and a second loan, and who forecloses on the second loan by making a “full credit bid,” cannot recover from an insurer for property damage that occurred before the foreclosure sale. … Read More

An auto insurer could not validly exclude coverage for an insured’s liability for bodily injury suffered by a non-relative resident of the insured’s household. ( Mercury Casualty Co. v. Chu (2014) 229 Cal.App.4th 1432) Facts Mercury Casualty Company issued an … Read More

An “employment-related practices” exclusion relieved a commercial general liability insurer of any duty to defend an insured employer against a suit arising from an alleged “strip search” of its employees. ( Jon Davler, Inc. v. Arch Insurance Co. (2014) 2014 … Read More

Whether a producer was a “broker” (acting on behalf of the insured) or an “agent” (acting on behalf of the insurer) was a question of fact where the insurer sought to rescind due to misrepresentations on the application. ( Douglas … Read More

Pursuant to California Insurance Code section 11580.9, a policy which specifically described the tractor portion of a tractor/trailer rig was “primary” to another policy which did not describe any portion of the rig. ( Scottsdale Indemnity Co. v. National Continental … Read More

Under California law, a defendant’s act of unloading an injured passenger from a motor vehicle constituted a “use” of that motor vehicle. ( Encompass Ins. Co. v. Coast National Ins. Co. (2014) WL 3930197) Facts Anthony Watson was driving a … Read More

An insured could maintain a bad faith lawsuit against an insurer who allegedly forced the insured to arbitrate his uninsured motorist claim without ever fairly investigating, evaluating and attempting to resolve the insured’s claim. ( Maslo v. Ameriprise Auto & … Read More

A homeowners insurer had no duty to defend its insureds against a lawsuit alleging that the insureds conspired to aid in the abduction of a child. ( Upasani v. State Farm General Insurance Company (2014) WL 2885928) Facts Avinash Kulkarni … Read More

A commercial general liability insurer was not obligated to defend its insured, a steel subcontractor, against a suit arising from the insured’s installation of allegedly inadequate seismic tie hooks in an apartment building. ( Regional Steel Corp. v. Liberty Surplus … Read More

A commercial general liability policy’s “personal and advertising” coverage for “disparagement” was not triggered where the insured’s advertisements did not specifically refer to and clearly derogate the claimant’s products. ( Hartford Cas. Ins. Co. v. Swift Distribution, Inc. (2014) 2014 … Read More