California has long had a statutory prohibition of insurer liability for a policyholder’s willful acts in Insurance Code § 533. On April 19th California’s First District Court of Appeal held section 533 precludes coverage for lead paint m...
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Significant California Decision Enforcing Statutory Prohibition on Liability Coverage for Willful Acts
April 21, 2022
Our Exclusive Member in California Co-edits the Third Edition of the ABA’s Property Insurance Litigator’s Handbook
Our Exclusive Member in California Co-edits the Third Edition of the ABA’s Property Insurance Litigator’s Handbook Bullivant Houser Shareholder Andy Downs is one of the three co-editors of the third edition of the Property Insurance Litigator’s Handb...
February 10, 2022
Insuralex chooses Bullivant Houser Bailey PC as its exclusive member in Washington
Insuralex chooses Bullivant Houser Bailey PC as its exclusive member in Washington Bullivant Houser, a U.S. West Coast-based law firm providing legal services in the area of insurance law and related litigation, announced that it has become the exclu...
February 7, 2022
Historic 2020 Wildfires Spark Proposed Insurance Coverage and Bad Faith Legislation in Oregon
The wildfires that ripped through Oregon in September of 2020 caused unprecedented damage, and sparked legislation that would expand property coverage and look to create a bad faith cause of action in Oregon. HB 3272 seeks to amend ...
April 20, 2021
Nevada Gets on the “Buss,” Adopts Insurer Right of Reimbursement for Uncovered Defense Costs
The Nevada Supreme Court, in a 4-3 decision, has concluded a liability insurer is entitled to reimbursement of defense costs when there is no overage and the insurer reserved in writing its right to seek reimbursement. Nautilus Ins. Co. v. Access Med...
March 17, 2021
WHAT DID SANTA LEAVE FOR PROPERTY INSURERS? New California Laws Affecting Property Claims in 2021
Every year, it seems, the California state government leaves “gifts” for property and casualty industry. The 2020 legislative session was no exception. Most new legislation takes effect on January 1, some takes effect immediately, and som...
January 7, 2021
Actual Knowledge or Awareness That Product is Sold in Washington Required for Personal Jurisdiction Based on Stream of Commerce
On July 13, 2020, the Washington court of appeals issued the third in a trilogy of decisions regarding whether a showing of actual knowledge or awareness that a product is sold in Washington is necessary to support personal jurisdiction in stream-of-...
July 22, 2020
California Legislators Attempt to Create Business Income Coverage for COVID-19 by Reversing Burdens of Proof
One of the less exciting components of litigation is the burden of proof. The lack of excitement, however, masks its importance. In many instances, which party is assigned the burden of proof determines the outcome – the party with the burden of proo...
July 14, 2020
California court revisits “Genuine issue doctrine” Applicability to consultant opinions
Andrew B. Downs In California, an insurer breaches the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing when it unreasonably and without proper cause deprives the policyholder of contractual benefits. For about twenty years, insurers in California hav...
June 12, 2020
Insuralex´s Exclusive Member in California recommended as a leading firm in chambers USA 2020 survey
Bullivant attorneys Andrew Downs and Thomas Hutchinson have been recognized as ranked lawyers in the latest edition of Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business (2020). Andrew Downs is ranked in California in the ...
April 24, 2020
Pandemic’s Impact on Case Evaluations
As we have seen to tragic effect around the world, the COVID-19 virus has proved to be unpredictable, with guidelines from state and federal governments and health agencies evolving from one week to the next. Currently, the effect of the crisis on li...
April 15, 2020
Small Business Employer and Employee Options in This Uncertain Time
Many small U.S. businesses are facing uncertainty about continued viability as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. An important part of this deliberation is how these small businesses can not only continue operations, but care for their valued employe...
April 9, 2020
Mediating in a Social Distancing Environment
Life as we know it changed in January of this year upon confirmation that the Coronavirus had reached the US. As of this writing the United States has seen at least 217,263 confirmed cases of Coronavirus, and at least 5,151 Coronavirus deaths. The Co...
April 9, 2020
Paycheck Protection Program An Economic Lifeline During an Unprecedented Crisis
The U.S. Treasury Department released new implementation guidance on April 6, 2020 regarding the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), including changes to interpretations for loan amount calculation. Additionally, the new guidance provides relaxed stan...
April 8, 2020
The Math Just Got More Complicated
California Insurance Commissioner Suspends All Statutory and Contractual Deadlines For 90 Days After the Termination of State of Emergency California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara has suspended all statutory and contractual deadlines associated...
April 7, 2020
Does Time Stand Still? The Procedural Implications of COVID-19 in Washington, Oregon, and California
Insuralex´s exclusive member in California explains procedural implicatons of COVID-19 in Washington, Oregon and California The Procedural Implications of COVID-19 in Washington, Oregon, and California The judiciary tends to lag behind the rest of so...
March 18, 2020
Excusive Insuralex member in California, Bullivant Houser´s President, elected as the Vice-Chair of Tort, Trial & Insurance Practice Section of the American Bar Association
Insuralex exclusive member in California, Bullivant Houser Bailey PC, a nationally recognized law firm with offices in Washington, Oregon, and California, announced that Loren Podwill has been elected as the Vice-Chair of Tort, Trial & Insurance ...
February 25, 2020
California’s New Year’s Resolution: Let’s Make Discovery More Expensive
California has long given parties producing documents the option of producing them either as they are kept in the ordinary course of business or organized and labeled to correspond to the categories in the request for production. Institutional partie...
January 8, 2020
The Only Constant is Change: New California Insurance Laws for 2020
Insuralex´s exclusive member in California talks about the new California insurance laws for 2020 The California legislature didn’t exactly leave coal in the insurance industry’s stocking in 2019, but it did make a number of changes to Ca...
January 3, 2020
California Supreme Court Concludes Notice-Prejudice Rule Applies To Consent Clauses In First-Party Insurance Policies
Insuralex´s exclusive member in California writes about the notice-prejudice rule. August, 2019 By Andrew B. Downs When it comes to insurance coverage, one cue to the court’s feelings about an issue is whether it views that issue as ...
September 6, 2019
A deal is not a deal: California Court uses uniform voidable transactions act to invalidate policyholder release of bad faith claim
In a case that ought to remind us that there are few limits to the creativity of the policyholder bar, and that if a course of action seems too cute, it probably is, the California District Court of Appeal used the Uniform Voidable Transactions Act t...
July 30, 2019
Insuralex chooses Bullivant Houser Bailey PC as its exclusive member in California
Bullivant Houser Bailey PC, a U.S. West Coast based law firm providing legal services in the area of insurance law and related litigation, announced that it has become the exclusive member firm in California for the Insuralex Global Insurance Lawyers...
May 21, 2019
