Recently, an Illinois appellate court affirmed a ruling an insurer did not owe coverage for damage to a building from a bursting frozen pipe. On appeal, the Fifth District agreed with the reasoning employed by the lower court, resting its decision on the warehouse owners’ failure to “maintain heat in the building or structure” to the best of their ability, as required by the policy. 

The pipe burst occurred in February 2011. After this event, the insurer invoked an exclusion in its policy that precluded coverage. The exclusion indicated heat in the building had to be maintained to the best…
Continue Reading A Chilling Effect: The Fifth District Upholds Insurer’s Denial of Coverage for Frozen Pipe Burst

A federal court has found that the insurer of a non-profit is not liable for a $67,097,998 judgment awarded against its insured for a fatal 2017 apartment fire in Oakland, California, due to the insured’s failure to disclose that it was the landlord of the apartment building on its insurance application, rendering the policy void ab initio. Atain Specialty Insurance Company v. Dignity Housing West, Inc., No. 19-CV-07296-LB, 2020 WL 7868127 *1 (N.D. Cal. Dec. 29, 2020). 

The insured operated the 43-unit apartment building at 2551 San Pablo Avenue in Oakland, California as the “master tenant and landlord” in charge of all building maintenance. Id. However, the lawsuits…
Continue Reading California Federal Court Finds No Coverage In Fire Coverage Row Where Insured Made Material Misrepresentations on Policy Application

In Tarakanov et al. Lexington Insurance Co., 2019 WL 5541007 (N.D. Cal. Feb. 26, 2020), Magistrate Judge Laurel Beeler, in the United States District Court, Northern District of California, recently dismissed Plaintiffs’ claims in its Complaint that Lexington Insurance Company (“Lexington”) breached a homeowner’s policy it issued to Plaintiffs and that it acted in bad faith by refusing to pay extended replacement-cost coverage (“ERC Coverage”) and Ordinance Coverage. The court determined there was no requirement for Lexington to pay Plaintiffs the ERC and Ordinance Coverage because Plaintiffs did not meet the policy’s condition precedent to repair or replace their home.

Plaintiffs’…
Continue Reading California Court Finds No Duty To Defend “Hypothetical” Claim Where Policyholder Did Not Rebuild Home

It’s not every day most of us get to deal with a real gold heist. But that is the case in Dillon Gage Inc. of Dallas v. Certain Underwriters at Lloyd’s, No. 3:18-CV-01555-X, 2020 WL 833255 (N.D. Tex. Feb. 19, 2020). Dillon… Continue Reading →
The post Texas Court Finds Concurrent Causes Of A Loss Where One Cause Is Covered And The Other Is Excluded “Results In No Coverage At All” appeared first on The Property Line.
Continue Reading Texas Court Finds Concurrent Causes Of A Loss Where One Cause Is Covered And The Other Is Excluded “Results In No Coverage At All”

A Kentucky federal judge ruled that Shelter Mutual Insurance Company doesn’t have to pay a $4 million judgment against a daycare center director in a child abuse case, finding that coverage is barred by an exclusion in the director’s homeowners… Continue Reading →
The post Homeowners Insurer Need Not Cover Judgment Against Insured For Abuse Based Upon “Business Activity” Exclusion appeared first on The Property Line.
Continue Reading Homeowners Insurer Need Not Cover Judgment Against Insured For Abuse Based Upon “Business Activity” Exclusion

In Witcher v. State Farm Fire and Cas. Co., 2018 IL App (5th) 170001-U (Ill. App. Jan. 26, 2018), the insureds demanded an appraisal following a fire loss.  A fire rendered the insureds’ home a total loss, but the insureds and… Continue Reading →
The post Formal Service of Petition for Appointment of Appraisal Umpire is Required Even if a Party Fails to Respond to Appraisal Demand appeared first on The Property Line.
Continue Reading Formal Service of Petition for Appointment of Appraisal Umpire is Required Even if a Party Fails to Respond to Appraisal Demand

Aon Hussain is an associate in the Insurance Practice.  He represents insurers in litigation and non-litigation matters related to commercial general liability coverage, first party property coverage, and excess/umbrella liability coverage.  Many of his cases require the defense of common… Continue Reading →
The post Attorney Spotlight: Aon Hussain appeared first on The Property Line.
Continue Reading Attorney Spotlight: Aon Hussain

Add Colorado to the handful of states set to provide guidance on the level of impartiality required of appraisers. The Colorado Supreme Court recently provided notice that it will rule on key issues relating to the interpretation of appraisal provisions… Continue Reading →
The post Colorado High Court to Address Appraiser Impartiality appeared first on The Property Line.
Continue Reading Colorado High Court to Address Appraiser Impartiality

The year 2017 has not been too kind.  In late August, Hurricane Harvey ravaged Texas.  Initial estimates for damages related to Harvey are between $70 billion and $108 billion.  Now, Florida and its neighbors in the Southeast are experiencing the… Continue Reading →
The post Coverage Issues to Spot in Upcoming Hurricane Claims appeared first on The Property Line.
Continue Reading Coverage Issues to Spot in Upcoming Hurricane Claims

Many times, significant losses occur on property where the named insured owes delinquent property taxes.  Certain states have codified laws mandating that, in such scenarios, a property insurer first pay delinquent property taxes from fire loss proceeds prior to paying… Continue Reading →
The post Yes to Taxation Without Insured Compensation: Third Circuit Rules Insurer Must Pay Delinquent Taxes from Policy Proceeds Prior to Paying Named Insured appeared first on The Property Line.
Continue Reading Yes to Taxation Without Insured Compensation: Third Circuit Rules Insurer Must Pay Delinquent Taxes from Policy Proceeds Prior to Paying Named Insured

By Aon Hussain Tressler’s Property Line has taken a keen interest on whether labor can be depreciated in determining the actual cash value (ACV) of a first party property loss.  Aside from creating a 50 State Survey on ACV and… Continue Reading →
The post Another Court Rules on the Depreciation of Labor appeared first on The Property Line.
Continue Reading Another Court Rules on the Depreciation of Labor

In property claims, issues often arise regarding: (1) whether a given structure is a part of the dwelling; and (2) what coverage limits apply to certain structures. The Texas Supreme Court recently addressed these issues in Nassar v. Liberty Mutual,… Continue Reading →
The post Texas Supreme Court Swings for the Fences in Case Regarding Fencing appeared first on The Property Line.
Continue Reading Texas Supreme Court Swings for the Fences in Case Regarding Fencing