March 2011

Seventh Circuit: State Farm is Right. Rejects Class Certification for Hail Damage Claims.

In Kartman, et al. v. State Farm Mut. Automobile Ins. Co., et al. (argued September 16, 2009 and decided February 14, 2011), the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the class certification granted by District Court Judge Lawrence in a lawsuit brought by unsatisfied homeowners following the 2006 hail storm in Indiana.  For full article, click here.

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Indiana Supreme Court Declines to Discuss Pollution Exclusion and Determines Maryland Law Applies

The Indiana Supreme Court issued its opinion in National Union Fire Insur. Co. of Pittsburgh, et al. v. Standard Fusee Corp . on December 29, 2010. The Court limited its review of the Court of Appeals’ decision to choice of law principles and declined to discuss the pollution exclusion or whether entering into a voluntary remediation agreement with the Indiana Department of Environmental Management constitutes a “suit.” The Court reaffirmed that Indiana law follows the uniform contract approach in multi-state, multi-policy cases to apply the law of the state with the most significant relationship to the transaction and the parties. For full article, click here.

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CSM Celebrates Second Anniversary

Cantrell, Strenski & Mehringer, LLP proudly celebrated its second anniversary on March 2, 2011.   The firm believes that the past two years have demonstrated the fact that a smaller firm will allow high quality and responsive representation without the conflicts, rate pressure and high overhead inherent in large law firms.  The partners remain committed to serving the insurance industry with the highest quality representation in all types of insurance coverage, bad faith, medical malpractice and other types of complex litigation.

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Insurers Have Limited Duty to Provide Policy to Insured Upon Request; Failure May Estop Defense of Noncompliance

On March 1, 2011, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled in Auto-Owners Insurance Company v. Gary Hughes , 18A02-1006-PL-659, that insurers must provide copies of policies to its insureds after a loss upon request, thus adopting a common-sense rule implemented by many other courts throughout the country. If a policy is not provided, an insurer may be banned from arguing that an insured failed to comply with the policy terms and is not entitled to coverage. For full article, click here.

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Supreme Court Denies Rehearing Request in Sheehan Construction for Insurer for General Contractor; Late Notice Bars Claims Against Subcontractor’s Insurer

In our December 2010 CSM Newsletter, we reported on the Supreme Court’s decision in Sheehan Construction Co. v. Continental Casualty Co., et al., in which the Court modified existing coverage law for construction defect claims, finding that CGL policies may provide coverage for a general contractor for work damaged by a subcontractor’s faulty workmanship. Continental Casualty, insurer for Sheehan, and Indiana Insurance, insurer for one of the subcontractors, sought rehearing. The Supreme Court denied Continental’s rehearing request in a published order (2010 WL5383906, December 17, 2010) with Justice Sullivan and Justice Shepard dissenting. However, the Court granted Indiana Insurance’s request for rehearing and modified its original opinion to find that delayed notice barred the claims as to Indiana Insurance.  For full article, click here.

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Indiana Super Lawyers 2011

Congratulations to Dennis Cantrell, Jim Strenski and Sue Mehringer for being selected as Indiana Super Lawyers for 2011. Dennis and Jim were selected as Super Lawyers in the area of insurance coverage and Sue was selected as a Super Lawyer in the area of Personal Injury Defense: Products. Congratulations also to Anna Mallon for being selected as an Indiana Rising Star.  Indiana Super Lawyers & Rising Stars is a joint project of Law & Politics Magazine and the Indianapolis Monthly.
 

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