Monthly archives: March, 2012

It’s All About Trigger: Eleventh Circuit Re-Examines Insurance Coverage For Defective Work Under J.S.U.B. & Pozzi Window

The Eleventh Circuit recently issued a lengthy opinion in Amerisure Mut. Ins. Co. v. Auchter Co., No. 10-10960 (11th Cir. Mar. 15, 2012) (“Auchter”), in which it dove back into insurance coverage issues involving construction defects. Unlike the Florida Supreme Court decisions in United States Fire Ins. Co. v. J.S.U.B., Inc., 979 So. 2d 871 (Fla. 2007) (“J.S.U.B.”), …

Myth #3: Fraud Claims Are Not Covered

It’s time to get back to my list of Top 10 Commercial Insurance Myths and Misconceptions. Today we discuss misconception #3: Fraud Claims Are Not Covered. This issue most frequently arises in the D&O insurance context, which I discuss below, but it arises in other contexts as well. Many types of claims, including general liability, …

Chinese Drywall Insurance Coverage Update: A Tale of Two Pollution Exclusions

On March 2, Auto-Owners Insurance Company dropped its Eleventh Circuit appeal of a Middle District of Florida decision granting summary judgment to its policyholder on defense and indemnity coverage for Chinese drywall liabilities. The district court’s opinion, authored by Judge Susan Bucklew in Tampa, denied Auto-Owners’ summary judgment motion seeking to avoid coverage obligations based on the pollution …

HB 245 Update: Florida Senate Opts Out Of Opt-Out Clause

In my previous post on HB 245, I described the Florida legislature’s efforts to depopulate Citizens by allowing surplus lines carriers to pluck policies from Citizens. The legislation at the time allowed surplus lines insurers to take a policyholder out of Citizens unless that policyholder objected and opted out of the new surplus lines coverage. …

11th Circuit Unsure If Insurance Policy Ambiguities Are Automatically Construed Against Insurers In Florida

Let’s take a short break from the top 10 insurance myths series to discuss a recent Eleventh Circuit decision that might seem a bit puzzling at first. (Hat tip to my friend Dan Thomas, construction lawyer extraordinaire at Leopold Law, for sending me a copy of the opinion.) In Ruderman v. Washington National Insurance Corp., …