Legal insights on insurance litigation in the State of Tennessee
With the proliferation of appraisal demands, the ins and outs of appraisal in Tennessee will begin to take shape through the judiciary. In Artist Building Partners v. Auto-Owners Mut. Ins. Co., the Court of Appeals recently made clear that it will not disturb the binding nature of an appraisal award.
For a little history…
Long title, I know, but hopefully it sparked your interest, or perhaps dredged up painful memories of drawing those sentence diagram structures on wide ruled paper, wondering if you would ever use that skill in “real life.” Well, see how you think it worked in the case of Artist Building Partners v. Auto-Owners Mutual Insurance …
One of my partners won a Court of Appeals decision earlier this week wherein the court construed an earth movement exclusion in a factual scenario not previously presented. The case is Hearn v. Erie Insurance Exchange, No. M2012-00698-COA-R3-CV. Download a copy here.
The language at issue in the policy provided that the company …
Back in 2009, Parks wrote about the Spears v. TFMIC case and correctly cited it for the proposition that an insured must submit to an examination under oath upon request, and that a failure to do so can bar recovery on an insurance claim. Notably absent from the Spears opinion was any requirement of prejudice…
Far from being “ho hum” as my colleague writes, the case of U. S. Bank, N.A. as servicer for the Tennessee Housing Development Agency v. Tennessee Farmers Mutual Insurance Company, No. W2012-00053-COA-R3-CV, filed November 29, 2012, the did establish some important points of law – but from the insurer’s perspective, in limiting bad…
You might recall the 2011 legislation that took away consumers’ right to bring claims against insurance companies under the Tennessee Consumer Protection Act, but that same legislation seemed to recognize the existence of a common law cause of action for bad faith in Tennessee. (click here for a prior post on that topic). Since that…
I recently learned that Tennessee Farmers Mutual Insurance Company (Farm Bureau) has changed the way it will pay roof claims. Specifically, a recent endorsement changes roof coverage to actual cash value for roofing materials instead of replacement cost. This means that roof materials will be depreciated in the event of a roof claim. For example…
Practitioners should be aware that Tennessee courts generally apply the law of the state where an insurance policy was issued and delivered if there is no enforceable choice of law clause in the policy. Gov’t. Employees Ins. Co. v. Bloodworth, 2007 Tenn. App. LEXIS 404 (Tenn. Ct. App. 2007). So, for example, if a policy…
I represented a Memphis homeowner a couple of years ago whose residential rental property was destroyed by fire. The policy provided coverage for fire loss, but contained an exclusion for "vandalism and malicious mischief . . . if the dwelling has been vacant for more than 30 days immediately before the loss." In our case, it was undisputed that the…
In response to a couple of cases rendered earlier this year, the Tennessee legislature has adopted Senate Bill 2271, which has two important impacts. The statute was signed into law by Governor Haslam on May 10, 2012. For a PDF copy, click here.
The new law provides that the signature of an applicant for or party …
