Category «Reasonable Expectations»

Eleventh Circuit Enforces Broad Statutory Exclusion To Deny Junk Fax Coverage

It may have seemed like déjà vu for the Eleventh Circuit to get another coverage dispute over junk faxes.  But that is just what happened in Interline Brands, Inc. v. Chartis Specialty Insurance Co., No. 13-10025 (11th Cir. Apr. 15, 2014).  The Eleventh Circuit had previously certified to the Florida Supreme Court a question regarding …

Insurance Policy Interpretation CLE: January 31, 2013, 1:00pm-2:30pm EST

Please join me for a CLE webinar sponsored by Strafford Publications on insurance policy interpretation and construction. I will be presenting along with Verne Pedro at Goldberg Segalla in Princeton, NJ and Jeremy Evans at Foley Hoag in Boston, MA. The program runs from 1:00pm-2:30pm EST. We will discuss various doctrines of insurance policy construction, including contra …

Eleventh Circuit Upholds Dismissal of Chinese Drywall Coverage Claim Under Total Pollution Exclusion

I previously discussed the American Building Materials coverage cases here.  ABM II was decided against the policyholder under Massachusetts law.  Judge Bucklew of the Middle District of Florida entered summary judgment in the insurer’s favor after finding that Granite State’s Total Pollution Exclusion unambiguously excluded coverage for the Chinese drywall claims. Yesterday, the Eleventh Circuit affirmed …

Deni Strikes Again: Total Pollution Exclusion Eliminates Coverage For Chinese Drywall Claims

The Florida Supreme Court’s decision in Deni Associates of Florida, Inc. v. State Farm Fire & Casualty Insurance Co., 711 So.2d 1135 (Fla. 1998) continues to haunt Florida policyholders with Total Pollution Exclusions in their general liability policies.  This time it was Southern District of Florida Judge Robert Scola’s July 16, 2012 decision in First …

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., …