The Northwest Policyholder
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From the UP Blog: Portland Harbor Superfund Litigation Has "Super" Implications For Policyholders
I was privileged enough to be invited to write the following guest blog post on May 2, 2016 for the blog of United Policyholders, an advocacy organization for commercial and personal-lines policyholders. Our firm has had the privilege of writin...
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Different Approaches to the Duty to Defend in Oregon and Washington
May 23, 2016
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Oregon and Washington are often viewed as sister states, similar in their climates, policies and attitudes. Yet, while the two states share a border and a uniquely Pacific Northwest culture, their approaches to insurance law differ greatly. In pa...
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In Washington, Coverage for Sole Proprietorship Must Include Broad Definition of "Insured"
I ran across a cautionary tale recently in a new Washington federal-court decision in Staheli v. Chicago Insurance Company. The lesson: in Washington, or any other community-property state, a liability policy covering a sole proprietorship must...
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Insurance Implications Loom in Oregon's New Negligent-Construction Statute of Limitations
Last Thursday, the Oregon Supreme Court issued its opinion in Goodwin v. Kingsmen Plastering, Inc., 359 Or 694 (2016), holding that the deadline to file a negligent construction-defect claim is two years from the time a plaintiff knew or should hav...
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Oregon Supreme Court Overrules 40-Year Precedent on Covenant Judgments
Good news for policyholders today from the Oregon Supreme Court: the court overruled the 42-year-old Stubblefield decision, making it much easier for defendants in litigation to protect themselves if their insurance company fails to reach a reasonabl...
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Insurer Sues to Terminate Defense of Premera Cyber Breach
On December 8, 2015 an insurer for Premera Blue Cross sued to terminate its defense obligation (and any indemnity obligation) in a class-action lawsuit involving the theft of 11 million medical records. We have previously reported on the massive...
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