exclusions

Damage Caused By Water-Borne Debris Beyond Flood and Wave Exclusion in Homeowner's Policy

Dana Ferestien
January 17, 2012 16:53

Washington law has long provided that "[a]n insured may not avoid an exclusion merely by affixing a specific label or characterization to the act or event causing the loss." Thomas V. Harris, Washington Insurance Law, § 6.10, fn. 179. That rule was recently put to the test before...

Liability Seen Through a Looking Glass, or Determining Insurance Coverage After the Fact

Stephen D. Rosenberg
December 14, 2011 18:52

I have written before and no doubt will again that one of the most interesting aspects of insurance coverage law is that all the flotsam and jetsam of American economic life eventually washes up on its shores; by this, I mean that whatever issues of liability are working their way through the court...

Then and Now: Proving a Duty to Defend By Using Evidence Outside of a Complaint

Stephen D. Rosenberg
November 28, 2011 17:32

You know, this is actually of more personal interest to me than it is probably of importance to insureds, insurers and their lawyers with regard to determining whether a duty to defend exists in a given case. That is because the rule reflected in the case I am about to tell you about is sensible,...

Colorado Court Employs Grammatical Approach to Determine Man-Made Earth Movement Not Excluded Under Earth Movement Policy Provision

October 03, 2011 12:43

If asked what an ordinary person might select for casual reading, one might think of books, magazines, or newspapers, but probably not insurance policies. If an ordinary person were to read an insurance policy, what would he or she think it meant? In states that employ the “reasonable...

Grow-ops qualify as an act of vandalism

August 08, 2011 19:19

  An insured homeowner sought insurance coverage for the damage caused by a marijuana grow-operation carried out by  the insured's tenants.  The insured argued that a grow-op falls within coverage for vandalism or malicious acts.   The...