In a published decision, the Eastern District of Washington recently decided two frequently litigated issues regarding the scope of the Insurance Fair Conduct Act (IFCA). Workland & Witherspoon, PLLC v. Evanston Ins. Co., ___ F.
In Servco Pacific Insurance v. AXIS Insurance, No. C15–0563, 2015 WL 5178031 (W.D. Wash. Sept. 4, 2015 ), the federal court in Seattle failed to enforce unambiguous policy language. Instead the court “reformed” a policy
As regular readers of this blog will recall, Washington State is a hotbed of bad faith litigation thanks in no small part to Washington’s Insurance Fair Conduct Act (IFCA). Some recent decisions suggest that “standalone”
In a published case, Judge Ricardo Martinez of the Western District of Washington recently ruled as a matter of law that a covered accident did not occur when a drunk insured motorcyclist collided with a
In this edition of the Insurance Commando Blog we examine how federal judge Donald Molloy limited the Montana Supreme Court’s holding in Tidyman’s Management Services, Inc. v. Davis, 376 Mont. 80, 330 P.3d 1139 (2014),
In Washington, an insured is entitled to recover attorney fees and litigation costs where the insurer compels it to assume the burden of legal action to obtain the full benefit of the insurance contract. Olympic
Here at the Insurance Commando Blog, we are aware that lawyers of the plaintiff’s bar often take defense counsel to task over litigation tactics, particularly for their responses to discovery requests. Lest the public believe
Believing a liability insurer can safely deny the duty to defend in Washington, without filing a declaratory action and defending under a reservation of rights, seems tantamount to believing in Santa Claus. The Honorable Richard
The Washington Condominium Act created a bonanza for plaintiffs’ lawyers representing condominium associations. It permitted the condominium association of a new condominium to sue the developer (who would then sue the contractors who built the
Washington federal judges have held that standalone WAC violations—regulatory violations without an unreasonable denial of coverage or payment of benefits—do not trigger liability under IFCA. Departing from this majority, Judge Mendoza of the U.S. District
