Last week, we looked at Magistrate Judge York’s October 2021 opinion in Smith v. State Farm, in which State Farm was ordered to proceed with an appraisal of the loss as properly invoked by Ms. Smith. As a refresher, Ms. Smith’s home was damaged by a March 3, 2020 storm, and State Farm agreed
breach of contract
Recent Developments – Appraisal in Tennessee, 2021 (Part 2)
By Brandon McWherter on
Posted in Appraisal
Earlier this week I posted about the recent Ingram v. State Farm case in which a federal court in the Eastern District of Tennessee obliterated State Farm’s defense that appraisal was inappropriate for disputes about “scope.” The Ingram case was just one of several recent opinions from around the State of Tennessee concerning insurance appraisals…
The Law of Matching in Tennessee
By Brandon McWherter on
Posted in Claim Tips, Coverage Issues
A hail storm hits a shingled roof, but only damages a handful of shingles. Unfortunately, the shingles on the roof are no longer manufactured, which would result in a mismatched checkerboard of colors on the roof if only the few damaged shingles were replaced. In those circumstances, is the insurance company obligated to replace the…
Morrison v. Allen, Part III
By Brandon McWherter on
Posted in Agent Involvement
This is the third installment of my recent discussion of the Morrison v. Allen decision. Assume these facts (a skeletal version of the facts in Morrison): John Doe requests life insurance from his insurance agent in the amount of $1,000,000. A policy is issued, but a claim by John’s wife, Jane, for benefits under…
Tennessee Supreme Court Redefines the Law of Insurance Agent Liability
By Brandon McWherter on
Posted in Agent Involvement
On February 16, 2011, the Tennessee Supreme Court rendered a landmark decision concerning insured’s rights to pursue claims against their insurance agents for failure to procure appropriate insurance. The case is Morrison v. Allen, and can be found here.
In Morrison, the basic facts were that Mr. and Mrs. Morrison obtained…