Court of Appeals Determines Insured Owes Indemnity/Insurance Coverage Despite Having Self-Insured Retention on Insurance Policy
Roadsafe Holdings, Inc. v. Walsh Const. Co., 2021 WL 325677 (Ind. Ct. App. 2021) This case has a long appellate history involving a number of legal issues. After a driver was injured while operating his vehicle through a construction zone, he filed a lawsuit against Walsh Construction Company (“Walsh”) for allegedly creating an unsafe traffic […]
Indiana Supreme Court Holds That UIM Insurer’s Right to Offset Payments by “Legally Responsible” Parties Does Not Include Payments by Other UIM Insurers
Glover v. Allstate Prop. & Cas. Ins. Co., 2020 WL 5951386 (Ind. 2020) The Indiana Supreme Court recently addressed a case with multiple insurance issues. Shelina Glover, a passenger in an automobile, died from a multi-car accident. Her estate settled claims against two responsible drivers who paid their policy limits totaling $75,000. The estate then […]
Indiana Court of Appeals Affirms That Insurers Are Not Required to Offer UIM Coverage to Insured Acquiring Umbrella Policies
North v. Selective Ins. Co. of South Carolina, 2020 WL 5542571 (Ind. Ct. App. 2020) After an automobile accident, Shannon sustained serious and permanent injuries. She was the daughter-in-law of a named insured (James) of an auto policy with Selective and living in James’ home at the time of her accident. After receiving the insurance […]
Indiana Court of Appeals Finds That Scooter Operator Was Not Entitled to Underinsured Motorist Coverage
Progressive Southeastern Ins. Co. v. Chastain, 2020 WL 4743879 (Ind. Ct. App. 2020) Chastain owned two scooters, one of which was registered with the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles (“BMV”). Chastain removed the license plate from the registered scooter and placed it upon the back of the second scooter without registering the second scooter with […]
Seventh Circuit Holds That “Known Claim” and “Intended or Expected Injury” Exclusions Bar Coverage for $50.56 Million Judgment Against Insured
Greene v. Westfield Ins. Co., 2020 WL 3476959 (7th Cir. 2020) The case of Greene v. Westfield has a convoluted history that involves three separate lawsuits over the course of ten years. Although the decision is worth reading in its entirety, we discuss its history only as needed to understand the basis for applying the […]
Indiana Court of Appeals Determines That Liability Insurer Is Not Responsible for Alleged Malpractice of Defense Attorney Hired to Defend Its Insured
Smith v. Progressive Southeastern Ins. Co., 2020 WL 3067807 (Ind. Ct. App. 2020) This case has a long appellate history to which the Indiana Court of Appeals recently added a new chapter. Smith and Clayton were co-workers who attended a company party at a restaurant. After consuming alcohol, Smith gave permission to Clayton to drive […]
Lewis Wagner & Trimble, LLP Welcomes Jordan Crabtree as New Associate
Lewis Wagner & Trimble is pleased to welcome Jordan Crabtree as an associate attorney in the firm’s Litigation Group, where he will focus on insurance coverage disputes, bad faith defense, insurance defense, and general litigation. Jordan earned his J.D. from the Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law in 2019. Prior to law school, […]
Court of Appeals Holds That Ransomware Attack Did Not “Fraudulently Cause” Insured to Buy Bitcoin to Pay Ransom
G&G Oil Co. of Indiana v. Cont’l W. Ins. Co., 2020 WL 1528095 (Ind. Ct. App. 2020) An oil company was a victim of a form of cyber extortion known as ransomware. A hijacker infiltrated the company’s computer network, encrypted its servers, and password-protected its drives. The hijacker demanded a ransom of three bitcoins to […]
Court of Appeals Holds That Insured’s Medical Lien Does Not Reduce Liability Limit of Tortfeasor’s Policy for Determining Whether Tortfeasor is Underinsured
Catanzarite v. Safeco Ins. Co. of Indiana, 2020 WL 1465936 (Ind. Ct. App. 2020) In Catanzarite, the plaintiff was injured in a car accident caused by the negligence of another motorist. The plaintiff’s auto policy provided underinsured motorist (“UIM”) coverage with a limit of $100,000, which was also the liability limit of the tortfeasor’s auto […]
Indiana Court of Appeals Holds That Insurer Owes Duty of Good Faith to Non-policyholder Insured
Schmidt v. Allstate Prop. and Cas. Ins. Co., 2020 WL 701176 (Ind. Ct. App. 2020) In Schmidt v. Allstate Prop. and Cas. Ins. Co., an automobile passenger was injured while riding in a car being driven by a policy’s named insured. The passenger presented an underinsured motorist (“UIM”) claim to the vehicle’s insurer, Allstate. The […]