Court Watch

For all you lawsuit junkies out there (does it take one to know one?), a Gulf Coast-based law firm has set up a Web log, or blog, that monitors lawsuits filed in relation to the hurricanes that hit Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas and this year.

McGlinchey Stafford PLLC launched www.hurricanelawblog.com, which it describes as “a comprehensive resource for companies with business interests in hurricane-affected areas.” A press release announcing the blog stated it “features up-to-date information about post-hurricane legal issues, including insurance, real estate, healthcare, environmental, finance and litigation.”

As Robert Refearn, Jr. of the New Orleans-based firm Simon, Peragine, Smith & Redfearn, L.L.P., pointed out in his “Legal Beat” column in the Nov. 21 issue of this magazine, the only thing certain about the many lawsuits that have been filed in response to the hurricanes so far is that there will be many more to come. Whatever their outcome, these legal actions will certainly affect the business of insurance in the Gulf Coast region.

And speaking of lawsuits, another one has been filed in New Orleans, this time over excess flood insurance, or lack thereof (see Newsbriefs, page 10). The story, first published by the Associated Press, has generated a flood (pun intended) of commentary on the Insurance Journal Web site, www.insurancejournal.com, as the suit claims that the insurer is at fault because its agent representative did not tell the owners of a high value home that excess flood insurance was available even though the insurance company in question didn’t offer it. Some of those submitting comments in response to the story argued that agents have the responsibility to inform their clients that important coverage, in this case excess flood insurance for a high value home, is available even if the company they represent doesn’t sell it. Others maintained that captive or exclusive agents don’t have that responsibility because they only sell the products of one company. If nothing else, this lawsuit has stimulated an interesting discussion of what an agent’s ethical responsibilities are in cases like these.

According to AP reports, the Louisiana Department of Insurance says more than 1,300 complaints have been filed against insurers in that state in the aftermath of the recent hurricanes. However, J. Robert Hunter, director of insurance for the Consumer Federation of America, and former Texas insurance commissioner, believes the number of people upset with their insurance companies may in reality be closer to 100,000. He told the AP that people are more likely to sue their insurance company than contact the state insurance department.

So stay tuned, there’s sure to be more on the way.

Topics Lawsuits Flood Hurricane