OREGON FEDERAL COURT FINDS HOA MEMBERS LACK STANDING TO BRING DIRECT ACTION AGAINST INSURER UNDER HOA’S INSURANCE POLICY BECAUSE THEY DO NOT QUALIFY AS INTENDED THIRD-PARTY BENEFICIARIES
Quarterly Newsletter Winter 2018 Recently, the U.S. Federal District Court for the District of Oregon had the opportunity to decide whether members of a Homeowners Association (“HOA”) qualify as intended third-party beneficiaries of the HOA’s insurance policy. In Stanton v. QBE Ins. Corp., 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 185988 (Nov. 9, 2017), the Court held that...
October 30, 2018 @ 8:00 AM
2018 Williams Kastner Labor and Employment Fall Seminar
Washington Athletic ClubPlease join the Labor & Employment Practice Group at Williams Kastner for a look at the newest issues in federal, state and local labor and employment laws. This seminar is focused on areas of interest to owners and managers of businesses and their corporate counsel. RSVP: Call 206.233.2932. To request disability accommodation, please contact us in advance of...
WASHINGTON COURT FINDS NO BAD FAITH DESPITE PROLONGED CLAIM RECONCILIATION PERIOD
Quarterly Newsletter Spring 2018 An insurer’s excessively low claim settlement offer can give rise to a claim under Washington’s Insurance Fair Conduct Act (“IFCA”) if the insurer made the offer knowing that the value of the claim was actually much higher. In a recent opinion, however, a Washing ton court rejected an insured’s bad faith...
WASHINGTON FEDERAL COURT DECLINES TO RULE ON WHETHER NEGLIGENT CLAIM HANDLING AND BAD FAITH CLAIMS ARE DISTINCT CAUSES OF ACTION UNDER WASHINGTON LAW
Quarterly Newsletter Summer 2016 Despite the fact that no Washington appellate court has explicitly recognized a cause of action for negligent claims handling separate and apart from a claim for insurance bad faith in first-party claims, many policy holders have asserted such claims in the past. On June 6, 2016, Judge Richard A. Jones for...
MONTANA FEDERAL COURT FINDS NO COVERAGE FOR STAND-ALONE CLAIMS BY HEIRS OF DECEASED EMPLOYEE WHO WAS INJURED FROM EXCLUDED CAUSE OF LOSS
Quarterly Newsletter Summer 2016 On June 8, 2016, Judge Carolyn S. Ostby for the United States District Court for the District of Montana held that an insurer owed no duty to defend an insured for stand-alone claims filed by heirs of a deceased person when the injury to the decedent was caused by an excluded...
WASHINGTON SUPREME COURT UNANIMOUSLY FINDS NO COVERAGE FOR WATER DAMAGE IN VACANT BUILDING UNDER ENDORSEMENT IN COMMERCIAL PROPERTY POLICY
Quarterly Newsletter Summer 2016 On June 9, 2016, the Washington State Supreme Court unanimously found that a commercial property insurer need not provide coverage for water damage in a vacant building when the policy specifically excluded coverage for such damage per endorsement. In Lui v. Essex Ins. Co., 2016 WL 3320769, the insured owned a...