Articles by Steven Plitt

Steven Plitt is the current successor author to Couch on Insurance, 3d. He maintains a national coverage practice with The Cavanagh Law Firm. He has been listed continuously as one of Arizona's 50 lawyers by Southwest Super Lawyers. He can be reached splitt@cavanaghlaw.com. To read additional articles by Steven Plitt, go to www.insuranceexpertplitt.com.

Kentucky Supreme Court Finds No Bad Faith as a Matter of Law in Auto Lawsuit

The Kentucky Supreme Court in Hollaway v. Direct General Ins. Co. Mississippi Inc., 497 S.W. 3d 733 (Ky. 2016), recently affirmed summary judgment that was granted in favor of the insurance company, finding that the plaintiff did not present a …

Florida High Court: Citizens Immune from First-Party Bad Faith Claims

In Citizens Property Ins. Corp. v. Perdido Sun Condominium Ass’n, Inc., 164 So.3d 663 (Fla. 2015), the Florida Supreme Court held that Citizens Property Insurance Corporation, a state-created entity that provided property insurance, was immune from liability for statutory first-party …

Texas Supreme Court Upholds Anti-Concurrent-Causation Clause in Ike Case

The Texas Supreme Court in JAW the Point, LLC v. Lexington Ins. Co., 460 S.W.3d 597 (Tex. 2015) held, on first impression, that losses incurred in demolishing and rebuilding property damage resulting from Hurricane Ike to comply with city ordinances …

South Carolina Court Rules on ‘Your Work’ Exclusion

Recently, the South Carolina Court of Appeals in Precision Walls, Inc. v. Liberty Mutual Fire Ins. Co., 410 S.C. 175, 763 S.E.2d 598 (Ct. App. 2014), reh’g denied (Oct. 23, 2014), held that the cost to tear down and re-build …

The Pitfalls of Rejecting a Defense Under Texas ‘Same Facts’ Test

Texas law recognizes that an insurer’s reservation of rights can create a potential conflict of interest. (Northern County Mut. Ins. Co. v. Davalos, 140 S.W.3d 685 (Tex. 2004)). Although there is a potential for conflict in this situation, the assertion …

Louisiana’s Direct Action Statute’s Effect on Claims-Made Policy Notice Provisions

Typical claims-made insurance policies require claims to be both made and reported within the applicable policy period. Under this type of policy, the risk of a claim incurred but not made, as well as a claim made but not reported, …

The Pitfalls of Rejecting a Defense Under Texas ‘Same Facts’ Test

Texas law recognizes that an insurer’s reservation of rights can create a potential conflict of interest. Northern County Mut. Ins. Co. v. Davalos, 140 S.W.3d 685 (Tex. 2004). Although there is a potential for conflict in this situation, the assertion …

A Review of Insurance Broker Duties Under California Law

Recently the California Court of Appeals provided an excellent summary of the duties of insurance agents and brokers under California law. See Mark Tanner Const., Inc. v. HUB Int’l. Ins. Services, Inc., 224 Cal.App.4th, 574, 169 Cal.Rptr.3d 39 (3rd Dist. …

Insurance Experts: Does It Really Take One to Know One?

When an insurance agent is sued for professional negligence, a question arises as to whether the breach of the agent’s duty of care requires the testimony of another insurance agent or broker who testifies that the agent breached the professional …

Indiana Supreme Court Affirms Importance of Reading Policy

Failure to procure insurance claims of agent malpractice typically involve agent conduct where the agent makes a promise of future activity and not representations about existing provisions related to actual coverages or limits in the issued policy. In the former …