This past week an unfortunate nightmare came true – a family had the unthinkable horror of hearing and watching a loved one perish when a sinkhole opened under the man’s bedroom in his Florida home. As has been reported, sinkhole losses have been increasing in magnitude and volume throughout the country, especially in certain...
When Alon’s Big Spring, Texas oil refinery exploded on February 18, 2008, destroying Veolia’s waste treatment facility, Alon did not even bother to contest its liability for the damages to Veolia’s facility. Nor did Alon dispute that the only proper measure of damages for the completely destroyed facility was its fair market value immediately...
So how can an insurance professional, risk manager, general adjuster, and asset manager make an informed decision regarding investigating a flood claim? Assuming that there is insurance coverage and that a claim will be paid, which of the thousands of flood claims carriers receive each year should be investigated for subrogation? There are several approaches,...
The United States District Court for the District of New Jersey recently reinforced that a public adjuster’s fee is not a recoverable element of an insured’s damages. In doing so, the court distinguished the cost incurred in retaining a public adjuster from the cost incurred in retaining other third-party contractors following a loss. ...
Exhaust fans commonly found in the ceilings of bathrooms and laundry rooms cause many residential fires and fires in commercial and industrial buildings. Exhaust fan fires have caused more than $50 million in property damages.[1] Exhaust fan fires are frequently ignited by electrical arcing in the fan motor or by heating caused by the fan motor bearings “locking up.” The...
The Supreme Court of Minnesota recently adopted a case-by-case approach to analyze whether a landlord or landlord’s insurer may sue its tenant. Ram Mutual Insurance Company v. Rusty Rohde d/b/a Studio 71 Salon, ____N.W.2d ____, 2012 WL 3822155 (2012). The decision effectively overrules the court’s decision in United Fire & Casualty Co. v. Bruggeman, 505...
The recent Georgia decision of Royal Capital Development LLC v. Maryland Casualty Company, 291 Ga. 262, 728 S.E.2d 234 (Ga. 2012) opened a new world of claims for property insurers, in that the Court concluded that economic loss ensuing from property damage (in this particular case so-called “stigma damage” was at issue) was covered under...
In a large number of American homes, hot and cold water are supplied to kitchen and bathroom faucets by braided stainless steel water line connectors. In a significant number those homes, the under-sink space that encloses the braided steel water lines also serves as a storage space, frequently for cleaning products. The subrogation community is...
Just days after ending a disappointing football season, USC scored a major legal victory in the California Supreme Court. In Sargon Enterprises v. University of Southern California, 2012 DJAR 15846, a Court of Appeals ruling permitting expert testimony on potential lost profits was reversed. This case is significant as it brings California law on the...
This recurring series will discuss various materials, including engineered plastics, woods, metals, polymers, bio-polymers, and other composites, and evaluate real world failure modes and provide practice tips for the recovery professional. The first material discussed is cellulose insulation. Cellulose is an organic material derived from wood, and commonly used in the building industry to insulate. Cellulose...
