Louisiana, with its short one-year tort statute of limitations (in Louisiana called prescription), catches many insurance subrogation professionals unaware. Some may assume that because suit was filed by another party involved in the accident or even by their own insured, the property subrogation claim will relate back to the time of filing of the original…
We are all aware that Missouri’s prohibition against assignment of a cause of action for personal injuries has complicated subrogation in that state. Subrogation in personal injury cases is considered to be against public policy because it amounts to an impermissible assignment of the insured’s right to a cause of action for suffering a personal…
What Happened The island of Maui, Hawaii was the unfortunate victim to catastrophic wildfires on August 8, 2023. Sources and authorities say that throughout the day and night of August 8, several brush fires were ignited all over the island of Maui including the towns of Lahaina, Kula and in upcountry Maui. The climate conditions…
Across the country, landlord/property owners’ insurance carriers’ efforts to subrogate against tenants who cause damage to the owners’ property has become a heavily-litigated issue—with mixed results. The ability of a landlord’s property insurer to subrogate against a tenant for property damage caused by the negligence of the tenant depends on which state the loss occurs…
Trial lawyers are filing bad faith class action suits against insurance companies across the country in rapid fashion based on alleged wrongful depreciation of labor costs in their calculation of Actual Cash Value (ACV) in property loss claims. They smell blood in the water given the turmoil and lack of clear guidance from state to…
Grothe v. Kushnivich, 521 P.3d 228 (Wash. App. 2022) One by one, states have begun to recognize a vehicle owner’s third-party claim for residual diminished value damage, or “stigma damage”, which is the loss of value of an automobile that remains after it is completely and professionally repaired. It is the loss of value that…
Sheckler v. Auto-Owners Ins. Co., 2022 WL 17245548 (Ill. 2022). The ability of a landlord’s property insurer to subrogate against a tenant for property damage caused by the negligence of the tenant varies greatly from state to state and often hinges on the specific language of the lease involved. There are generally three different approaches:…
They refer to it simply as “The Storms of 98.” Fierce rains and high tides combined to make San Francisquito Creek overflow its banks at 1 a.m., inundating houses, cars and streets. Firefighters used boats to rescue people trapped in their homes and school buses took evacuees to the Cubberley Community Center for shelter in…
The devastation of Hurricane Ian reminds us that the opportunity for property subrogation success is often disguised as an Act of God. The claims history of most domestic insurance carriers is littered with billion dollar claims as a result of catastrophic losses caused by natural disasters. When God sends a hurricane, tornado, flood, or naturally…
We are in the early stages of sifting through the debris of Hurricane Ian and calculating the financial and human toll it took after coming ashore in Southwest Florida with 150 mph winds and 20 inches of rain. The insured losses expected to flow from this natural disaster are still being calculated, but estimates range…