Commercial General Liability
TCPA’s $500 Liquidated Damages per Violation Are Not Punitive Damages, Illinois Supreme Court Holds
The Illinois Supreme Court has ruled that the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 is a remedial and not a punitive statute, and that the $500 liquidated damages per violation provided by the TCPA are not punitive damages. It decided that the “manifest purpose” of the TCPA was “remedial and not penal.” It explained that Congress enacted the TCPA to address telemarketing abuses attributable to the receipt of unsolicited faxes, intending “to prevent advertisers from unfairly shifting the cost of their advertisements to consumers while simultaneously preventing the use of their fax machines for legitimate purposes.” The harms identified by Congress, e.g., loss of paper and ink, annoyance, and inconvenience, while small in reference to individual violations of the TCPA, were “nevertheless compensable” and were “represented by a liquidated sum of $500 per violation,” the court decided. Read More

Homeowners Insurance
Idaho Supreme Court Finds Policy Unambiguous, Ruling that It Did Not Cover Water Damage Claims
The Idaho Supreme Court has affirmed a trial court’s decision that water loss claims made under a homeowner’s insurance policy were excluded from coverage, deciding that the policy was not ambiguous. The Case: Roger Rizzo alleged that his home was damaged by water entering the basement. Mr. Rizzo’s homeowner’s insurer, State Farm Fire and Casualty Company, disclaimed coverage based on the policy’s exclusion for water damage caused by surface water and water from below the surface of the ground. Read More

Automobile Insurance
Divided Ohio Supreme Court Finds for Insureds Despite Uninsured Tortfeasor’s Immunity
A divided Ohio Supreme Court has reversed a trial court’s decision and ruled that the immunity of a tortfeasor police officer did not bar the right of insureds to recover uninsured motorist benefits. FC&S Legal Comment: The court’s opinion was joined by one justice. Two others concurred in the judgment and urged that Snyder v. Am. Fam. Ins. Co., 871 N.E.2d 574 (Ohio 2007), be overruled. Three other justices dissented, urging that Snyder controlled. It would appear that the court’s long and tortured history of jurisprudence regarding UM-UIM insurance coverage continues.  Read More

Fire Insurance
2d Circuit Asks Top N.Y. Court to Interpret Fire Insurance Policy’s Suit Limitations Clause in Light of Its Replacement Cost Provision
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has asked the N.Y. Court of Appeals to interpret a fire insurance policy’s two year suit limitations clause in light of its replacement cost provision.  Read More