Avoiding Insurance Bad Faith

In Elephant Insurance Co., LLC v. Kenyon, the Supreme Court of Texas reiterated the framework of an insurer’s common-law duties to insureds under Texas law.[1] In applying that framework to the facts of the case, the Court rejected an attempt to expand an insurer’s obligations under existing common-law tort principles. The Court also refused

In its recent decision, People ex rel. Ellinger v. Magill, et al., —Cal.Rptr.3d—, No. E076378, 2022 WL 1077988 (Cal. Ct. App., Mar. 18, 2022), the California Court of Appeal refused to extend liability under California’s Insurance Frauds Prevention Act (IFPA) to an insurer’s claims handling practices.

Insurance Code Section 1871.7 allows a party to

A recent Supreme Court decision, High Country Paving, Inc. v. United Fire & Cas. Co., 2022 MT 72, ¶ 1, answered in the negative a question certified by a federal district court regarding tensions inherent in Montana’s  Property and Casualty Insurance Policy Simplification Act (“PSA”).  The Ninth Circuit had submitted the following state law

On January 19, 2022, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed S.B. 1559, known as the “New Jersey Insurance Fair Conduct Act,” which allows motorists to sue their insurance companies over “unreasonably” late or denied coverage benefits and unfair settlement practices.  The bill, passing through both houses of New Jersey’s legislature without substantial amendment, would allow

Just a few short years ago, there was a bright line rule under Texas law concerning appraisal awards.  If an insurer timely paid an appraisal award, that payment extinguished all of the insurer’s contractual and extracontractual liability to the insured.  See, e.g., Garcia v. State Farm Lloyds, 514 S.W.3d 257, 264-273 (Tex. App.—San Antonio 2016,

Using general contract interpretation principles, the Fifth Circuit reversed summary judgment in favor of an insurer and found a duty to defend Landry’s in a data breach lawsuit. Landry’s Inc. v. The Insurance Company of the State of Pennsylvania, No. 19-20430 (July 21, 2021). Landry’s contracted with Paymentech to process credit card payments at its