Archive for July, 2010

WCAB Properly Ruled Applicant Had Done Enough To Object to UR Determination And That Both Parties Had Recognized That Fact

In the unpublished case of Trimas Corporation, et al, v. Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board and Frank Rendon, No. F060040 (July 30), Trimas petitioned for a writ of review of a WCAB decision.  Trimas argued that the WCAB erroneously concluded an employee may proceed to the dispute resolution process without first timely objecting to an employer’s [...]

July 30, 2010   Posted in: Blog  Comments Closed

Insurer Not Obligated To Speculate A Plaintiff Might Allege A Covered Claim

In the unpublished case of Innovay, Inc.,  et al, v. The Hartford Casualty Insurance Company, No. B215357 (July 30), plaintiff Innovay and its directors filed a claim against Hartford after Hartford denied Innovay’s tender of defense of a third party complaint for fraud, deceit, and negligent misrepresentation.  After filing the action, Innovay provided Hartford with [...]

July 30, 2010   Posted in: Blog  Comments Closed

DOI Schedules Workshop on Principally At-Fault Regulations

The Department has scheduled a workshop in Sacramento on Friday, September 3 to consider the latest version of its Principally At-Fault Regulations.  The regulations continue to suffer from the infirmity discussed in our June 2 blog post and prior blog posts on the subject.  See, especially, our March 27, 2009 blog entry, where this issue [...]

July 30, 2010   Posted in: Blog  Comments Closed

DOI To Require Electronic Filing Of Life And Disability Forms And All Corporate Affairs Bureau Filings

The Department will hold a hearing in San Francisco on Wednesday, September 15, 2010 to consider amendments to regulations that will require that all forms filed with the Policy Approval Bureau and Actuarial Office be filed electronically through the System for Electronic Rate and Form Filings (SERFF) of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC).  [...]

July 30, 2010   Posted in: Blog  Comments Closed

Insurer Told To “Lie In the Bed It Made” After Defending Party Not Its Named Insured

In the case of  Essex Insurance Company v. Heck, No. F058139 (July 29), Essex provided a defense to a defendant in a personal injury action who was not its named insured, but did not discover its mistake until after judgment was entered following a jury verdict in the plaintiff’s favor.  Litigation followed over Essex’s obligation [...]

July 29, 2010   Posted in: Blog  Comments Closed

Opinion Survey Evidences Public Skepticism Towards First Party Bad Faith Litigation

A majority of Americans believe that laws allowing people to sue their own auto insurance company for punitive damages, in addition to receiving benefits for their insured claim losses, are not a good idea. New public opinion survey findings from the Insurance Research Council  (IRC) indicate that 26 percent of those surveyed said that allowing [...]

July 29, 2010   Posted in: Blog  Comments Closed

Second Appellate District Enforces Claims Made And Reported Policy Terminology

The unpublished case of Beta Healthcare Group Risk Management Authority v. Norcal Mutual Insurance Company, No. B216295 (July 28) involves a coverage dispute between Beta and Norcal over a malpractice claim.  In 2006, Dr. Michael Wang operated on the spine of Marteen Moore at the USC University Hospital.  Dr. Anne Anglim treated an infection to [...]

July 28, 2010   Posted in: Blog  Comments Closed

Commissioner’s Broad Discretion In Insurance Code Enforcement Upheld

The case of Schwartz, et al, v. Poizner, No. A126217 (July 28; ordered published August 12), arises out of a settlement agreement the Insurance Commissioner reached with a number of related insurers whose claims-handling allegedly violated the Insurance Code.  In the pending case, plaintiff Schwartz alleged numerous causes of action against the insurers and also [...]

July 28, 2010   Posted in: Blog  Comments Closed

“Sufficient Excuse” Justified Not Declararing Bail Forfeiture Upon First Nonappearance

In the unpublished case of County of Los Angeles v. American Surety Company, No. B218291 (July 28), Division Three of the Second Appellate District upheld the trial court’s denial of American Surety’s motion to set aside a summary judgment on a forfeited bail bond.  The Court rejected the County’s contention that the appeal was untimely, [...]

July 28, 2010   Posted in: Blog  Comments Closed

Defense Duty Extends To Calderon Act Process In Construction Defect Litigation

Clarendon America Insurance Company v. StarNet Insurance Company, No. G042353 (July 27), is a case of first impression from Division Three of the Fourth Appellate District affirming a trial court judgment that the CGL policy defense duty extends to proceedings under the Calderon Act, Civil Code Section 1375 et seq.  The Court specifically held that [...]

July 27, 2010   Posted in: Blog  Comments Closed

Ninth Circuit Reaffirms That Insurance Agents Are Independent Contractors

In Murray v. Principal Financial Group, et al, No. 09-16664 (July 27), the Ninth Circuit affirmed a district court decision that the plaintiff in the case, a “career agent” suing for alleged sex discrimination, is not an employee entitled to the Title VII protections of an employee.  See Adcock v. Chrysler Corp. (9th Cir. 1999) [...]

July 27, 2010   Posted in: Blog  Comments Closed

Commissioner’s Rejection Of Artemis Insurance Company Sale Upheld

Last year, Commissioner Poizner denied a request for permission to buy a California insurance company from a foreign company whose owner is the defendant in a multi-billion dollar post-Executive Life Insurance Company insolvency lawsuit brought by Commissioner Poizner. The sale, according to the Commissioner, would have siphoned money out of the United States while a [...]

July 27, 2010   Posted in: Blog  Comments Closed

Commissioner Announces Farmers Auto Insurance Rate Cut

Commissioner Poizner announced that hundreds of thousands of Farmers Insurance customers are eligible to receive an average rate reduction of 14.5 percent and a one time 10 percent insurance premium rebate, worth a combined total of up to $100 million. Customers of Farmers Insurance are insured through one of their two major auto insurance subsidiaries, [...]

July 27, 2010   Posted in: Blog  Comments Closed

Dismissal of Bad Faith Suit Against Farmers Reversed Where Insureds Incurred Attorney Fee Expense

In the unpublished case of Kennedy v. Farmers Insurance Exchange, No. B217963 (July 27), Division Two of the Second Appellate District reversed a dismissal after demurrer of a lawsuit against Farmers arising out of alleged wrongful conduct in Farmers’ handling of a liability claim.  The Court of Appeal held that the complaint pled facts sufficient [...]

July 27, 2010   Posted in: Blog  Comments Closed

ERISA Plan Member Eligible For Disability Benefits From MetLife Where MetLife Failed To Cross-Complain For Indemnification

In Mitchell v. CB Richard Ellis Long Term Disability Plan, Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, UNUM Life Insurance Company of America, etc., Nos. 08-55277, 08-55689 (July 26), MetLife appealed from a district court’s judgment awarding Mitchell long-term disability benefits and attorneys fees in an ERISA action.  MetLife is the current administrator for the CB Richard Ellis [...]

July 26, 2010   Posted in: Blog  Comments Closed

Supreme Court Approves Contingent Fee Delegation Of Public Nuisance UCL Actions To Private Attorneys

In County of Santa Clara, et al, v. Superior Court (ARCO), No. S163681 (July 26), a group of public entities are prosecuting a public nuisance action against numerous lead paint manufacturers.  The public entities are represented by their own government-paid attorneys and by several private law firms working on a contingency basis.  Defendants moved to [...]

July 26, 2010   Posted in: Blog  Comments Closed

WCAB Decision Upheld Where Insurer Identified Early On And Defective Notice Corrected

In the unpublished case of Krause v. Workers’  Compensation Appeals Board and Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., No. F058788 (July 23), the Fifth Appellate District was asked to review Krause’s contention, on a petition for a writ of review, that the WCAB erred by adding an employer’s workers’ compensation insurer as a party defendant to a prior [...]

July 23, 2010   Posted in: Blog  Comments Closed

Health Insurance Rate Filing Notices Now Available By E-Mail

Commissioner Poizner announced today that consumers can now be notified via e-mail when new health insurance rate filings for the individual market are made. “We want as many people as possible scouring these rate filings to ensure they are mistake-free,” said Commissioner Poizner. “The e-mail notification tool will expand access to these documents by informing [...]

July 23, 2010   Posted in: Blog  Comments Closed

Title Insurer’s Offer to Insure Over Title Defect Does Not Remove Cause Of Claim

In the unpublished case of De Paz, et al, v. First American Title Insurance Co., No. B220937 (July 22), Division Five of the Second Appellate District considered a trial court’s confirmation of an arbitration award in favor of First American Title Insurance Co.  The arbitration award was subject subject to the standard for review of [...]

July 22, 2010   Posted in: Blog  Comments Closed

Aon Decides to Take Contingent Commission After All

Insurance broker Aon Corp. said it will resume taking contingent commissions from insurers where they are allowed — reversing its policy on that form of compensation just six months after a legal settlement banning the volume-based payments was lifted. In a press release, Steve McGill, chairman and chief executive officer of Chicago-based Aon Risk Solutions, [...]

July 22, 2010   Posted in: Blog  Comments Closed

No Defense Obligation Where Home Fails To Fall Within Definition Of “Insured Location”

In the unpublished case of Subkoski v. The Standard Fire Insurance Company, No. B21800 (July 21), Division Four of the Second Appellate District considered the trial court’s decision that Standard properly refused to provide a defense for a lawsuit brought by a purchaser of a home constructed by the appellants on land they owned.  Standard’s [...]

July 21, 2010   Posted in: Blog  Comments Closed

Clerk’s Certification Satisfied Requirements for Notice of Bail Forfeiture

In The People v. Safety National Casualty Corporation, No. E047157 (July 15), Division Two of the Fourth Appellate District considered a surety’s appeal of a trial court denial of a motion to set aside forfeiture of a bail bond and to exonerate the bail.  The surety contended that the trial court lost jurisdiction to declare [...]

July 15, 2010   Posted in: Blog  Comments Closed

Department Issues Notice As To CAARP Electronic Application Submissions

The Department of Insurance has issued a 15-Day Notice of Text with respect to proposed amendments to the CAARP Plan of Operations.  The amendments were the subject of a hearing on September 22, 2009.  The Department found that its Initial Statement of Reasons issued in connection therewith failed to meet the necessity standards in Government [...]

July 13, 2010   Posted in: Blog  Comments Closed

Public Entities May Be Liable For Failing To Disclose Material Information To Contractors

Los Angeles Unified School District v. Great American Insurance Company, Hayward Construction Company, No. S165113 (July 12), is a 6-1 decision from the California Supreme Court defining the conditions under which a contractor may recover when a public entity knows, but fails to disclose, material facts that would affect the contractor’s bid or performance.  It [...]

July 12, 2010   Posted in: Blog  Comments Closed

Emergency Life Settlement Regulations Reissued Once Again

The Commissioner has reissued the proposed life settlement regulations for a third time.  See our May 17 and June 11 blog posts.  Notice is required five days before filing.  In fact, the proposed regulations were not actually filed on either of the two prior occasions on which the Commissioner gave this notice.  Interested parties therefore [...]

July 9, 2010   Posted in: Blog  Comments Closed