Insurance

In an insurance bad faith case, the trial court properly remitted punitive damages from the $19 million awarded by the jury to $475,000, which was ten times the actual damages awarded.  Read More

Insurers owe emergency service providers a duty of care not to delegate responsibility to pay for emergency services to a medical provider that the insurer knows or should know is insolvent and unable to pay the providers' claims.  Read More

Insurer is entitled to summary judgment against a claim under an auto insurance policy which the insurer had canceled before an accident, due to the insured's failure to respond within 30 days to written inquiry whether the insured wanted his driving age son to be included as an insured under the policy, since that information was reasonably necessary to underwrite… Read More

If the state does not intervene in an insurance false claims case, the plaintiff insurer may enforce the entire judgment against the defendants without first having the court determine the insurer’s share of the proceeds of the action.  Read More

An insurer failed to satisfy its obligation to settle a case of obvious liability within policy limits when it offered the full policy limits promptly, but demanded a full release of all claims against the insured in return—a broader release than it was entitled to.  Read More

Even without entry of a judgment in excess of primary policy limits, an excess insurer that has paid part of a settlement in excess of the primary insurance policy's limits may sue the primary insurer on a claim for equitable subrogation to the insured's bad faith claim against the primary insurer, for unreasonably failing to settle within policy limits.  Read More

Since the policy clearly allows it to do so, an insurer breaches neither its policy nor the duty of good faith in repairing rather than paying the value of a nearly new vehicle seriously damaged in an auto accident, even though the repaired vehicle’s market value is substantially lower than the vehicle’s pre-accident value.  Read More

Triable issue of fact precluded summary judgment on insurance coverage for cost of restoring insured’s master bathroom after extensive water damage, but summary judgment was properly entered on the insured’s bad faith claim under the genuine dispute doctrine and on the insured’s elder abuse claim.  Read More

A child molester’s “grooming” presents to the molested minor did not trigger application of Insurance Code section 11583 which tolls the statute of limitations on partial payment of compensation for injury given without notice of applicable limitations periods.  Read More

A primary insurer cannot escape proportionate liability for indemnity or defense costs even if it puts its other insurance clause in the coverage portion of the policy as well as in the policy conditions section. Read More