Hurricane Laura: Implications for Insurers in Louisiana
October 19, 2020 —
Jennifer Michel & Tabitha Durbin - Lewis BrisboisJust two days before the 15th Anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, Category 4 Hurricane Laura made landfall near Cameron, Louisiana. Although the “unsurvivable” 20-foot storm surge, which had been predicted ahead of the storm, thankfully was significantly less, the impact of Laura on the Southwest Coast of Louisiana and Southeast Coast of Texas and its neighboring parishes and counties, most notably Cameron Parish, was quite severe. Lake Charles, Louisiana suffered widespread flooding and sustained catastrophic wind damage. Although the storm moved quickly, it retained its strength longer than expected such that even areas well inland sustained considerable damage. Preliminary estimates for insured losses from storm surge, flooding, and winds range from $8 to $12 billion for residential and commercial properties. Insurers providing residential or commercial property insurance in Louisiana should keep the following statutory claims handling requirements in mind.
Louisiana Statutory Provisions
Under Louisiana law, an insurer is expected to comply with certain statutory requirements in investigating and handling claims submitted by its insureds and third-party claimants. The majority of these requirements, and the consequences of their violation, are codified by La. R.S. 22:1892, which governs the payment and adjustment of claims, and La. R.S. 22:1973, which delineates an insurer’s duty of good faith. Together, the statutes impose three requirements on insurers: timely initiation of loss adjustment, timely payment of claims, and a duty of good faith and fairness in the adjustment and payment of said claims.
Reprinted courtesy of
Jennifer Michel, Lewis Brisbois and
Tabitha Durbin, Lewis Brisbois
Ms. Michel may be contacted at Jenny.Michel@lewisbrisbois.com
Ms. Durbin may be contacted at Tabitha.Durbin@lewisbrisbois.com
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New York Governor Expected to Sign Legislation Greatly Expanding Recoverable Damages in Wrongful Death Actions
June 20, 2022 —
Nicholas P. Hurzeler - Lewis BrisboisNew York, N.Y. (June 3, 2022) - The New York Senate and Assembly recently passed
Bill S74A, also known as the Grieving Families Act, and it is expected that Governor Hochul will likely sign the bill into law. If passed, the law would significantly expand the damages available in wrongful death actions in a number of ways.
First, Section 1 would amend EPTL section 5-4.1 to extend the statute of limitations to commence a wrongful death action from two years to three years and six months, a significant increase that will permit many more wrongful death cases to go forward.
Second, Section 2 amends EPTL section 5-4.3, to allow recovery for emotional damages if a tortfeasor is found liable for causing a death. The current law only allows recovery of economic damages, such as economic hardship caused by a loss of parental guidance. The old law did not permit recovery of damages for grief, sympathy, and loss of companionship or consortium (see, e.g., Liff v. Schildkrout, 49 N.Y.2d 622 (1980); Bumpurs v. New York City Hous. Auth., 139 A.D.2d 438, 439 (1st Dept. 1988)), but that would change with passage of the new bill.
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Nicholas P. Hurzeler, Lewis BrisboisMr. Hurzeler may be contacted at
Nicholas.Hurzeler@lewisbrisbois.com
The Road to Hell is Paved with Good Intentions: A.B. 1701’s Requirement that General Contractors Pay Subcontractor Employee Wages Will Do More Harm Than Good
November 02, 2017 —
Steven M. Cvitanovic & Omar Parra - Haight Brown & Bonesteel LLPTales of subcontractors who close up shop before paying their employees are not all that uncommon, but they are certainly not common enough to require General Contractors to pay for that same labor twice. Last month, the California Legislature passed Assembly Bill No. 1701, which requires the General Contractor of a private construction project to pay all unpaid wages and fringe benefits owed to an employee of a subcontractor, irrespective of the tier, and even if the General Contractor made the payment. With the Governor’s recent signature, Assembly Bill No. 1701 is now the law of the land. Here is what you need to know:
- It applies to all private (but not public) construction contracts entered into on or after January 1, 2018;
- It gives a subcontractor’s employee a direct cause of action against the General Contractor for any unpaid wages and fringe benefits, even if the General Contractor has fully paid the subcontractor;
- It gives a third party owed fringe or other benefits a cause of action against the General Contractor;
- All actions by the employee or third party must be filed within one year of the earliest of the recordation of the notice of completion, the recordation of the notice of cessation of work, or the actual completion of the work;
- The General Contractor cannot contract to avoid the liability imposed by Assembly Bill No. 1701, but it can seek indemnity from the subcontractor; and
- At the General Contractor’s request, the subcontractor shall provide the General Contractor with its payroll records.
Reprinted courtesy of
Steven Cvitanovic, Haight Brown & Bonesteel LLP and
Omar Parra, Haight Brown & Bonesteel LLP
Mr. Cvitanovic may be contacted at scvitanovic@hbblaw.com
Mr. Parra may be contacted at oparra@hbblaw.com
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Wood Product Rotting in New Energy Efficient Homes
January 13, 2014 —
Melissa Zaya-CDJ STAFFBrad Pitt’s Make It Right Foundation may be filing a suit against TimberSIL, a wood manufacturer, as reported by WRAL. The foundation built 100 new homes in the 9th Ward of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, and used the TimberSIL wood in 30 of the homes for decks and stairs. Make It Right spokeswoman Taylor Royle told Richard Thompson of WRAL that they chose TimberSIL because of the absence of chemicals, which will allow the wood to be mulched and composted after it has served its purpose.
However, Royle claimed that the wood has begun to rot “despite being guaranteed for 40 years,” according to WRAL. She further alleged that the manufacturer failed to respond to any of the foundation’s attempts to discuss reimbursement of their costs under the forty year product warranty.
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No Duty to Defend Under Renter's Policy
May 03, 2021 —
Tred R. Eyerly - Insurance Law HawaiiThe court agreed that the insurer had no potential liability under a policy where the insured allegedly concealed facts and made misrepresentations regarding the condition of the property it sold. State Farm Fire & Cas. Co. v. TFG Enterprises, LLC, 2021 Neb. LEXIS 27 (Neb. Feb. 19, 2021).
TFG sold a house to Jeffrey Barkhurst. Thereafter, Barkhurst filed suit alleging that TFG failed to disclose and actively concealed several defects, including water intrusion, the presence of mold, substandard repairs and structural issues. State Farm agreed to TFG defend under a reservation of rights. State Farm then filed a declaratory judgment action to determine its obligations under the policy.
State Farm relied upon various exclusions in the rental policy issued to TFG. The exclusions provided there would be no liability coverage for "property damage to property owned by an insured"; "property damage to property rented to, occupied or used by or in the care of the insured"; or "property damage to premises the insured sells. . . if the property damage arises out of these premises."
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Tred R. Eyerly, Damon Key Leong Kupchak HastertMr. Eyerly may be contacted at
te@hawaiilawyer.com
South Carolina “occurrence” and allocation
September 01, 2011 —
CDCoverage.comIn Crossman Communities of North Carolina, Inc. v. Harleysville Mutual Insurance Co., No. 26909 (S.C. Aug. 22, 2011), insured Crossman was the developer and general contractor of several condominium projects constructed by Crossman’s subcontractors over multiple years. After completion, Crossman was sued by homeowners alleging negligent construction of exterior components resulting in moisture penetration property damage to non-defective components occurring during multiple years. Crossman settled the underlying lawsuit and then filed suit against its CGL insurers to recover the settlement amount. Crossman settled with all of the insurers except for Harleysville. Crossman and Harleysville stipulated that the only coverage issue was whether there was an “occurrence.” The trial court subsequently entered judgment in favor of Crossman, determining that there was an “occurrence.” The trial court also ruled that Harleysville was liable for the entire settlement amount without offset for the amounts paid by the other insurers.
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Reprinted courtesy of CDCoverage.com
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Do Municipal Gas Bans Slow the Clean Hydrogen Transition in Real Estate?
June 06, 2022 —
Sidney L. Fowler, Robert G. Howard & Emily Huang - Gravel2Gavel Construction & Real Estate Law BlogClean hydrogen has the potential to play a significant role in the energy transition by serving as a carbon-free form of energy storage and heat production. In real estate, hydrogen could provide heating, replace or supplement natural gas in many applications, or store excess rooftop solar power. The United Kingdom, United States and Japan
are all homes to pilot projects attempting to scale out hydrogen for use in communities.
As we have
discussed previously, many cities have recently passed ordinances banning the inclusion of natural gas infrastructure in new commercial and residential buildings. These bans can create headaches for real estate developers and inject uncertainty into development plans.
Reprinted courtesy of
Sidney L. Fowler, Pillsbury,
Robert G. Howard, Pillsbury and
Emily Huang, Pillsbury
Mr. Fowler may be contacted at sidney.fowler@pillsburylaw.com
Mr. Howard may be contacted at robert.howard@pillsburylaw.com
Ms. Huang may be contacted at emily.huang@pillsburylaw.com
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ACEC Research Institute Releases New Engineering Industry Forecast
December 13, 2021 —
American Council of Engineering CompaniesWashington, DC, Dec. 09, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today, the ACEC Research Institute released two new reports on the Engineering and Design Services industry: the 2021 Economic Assessment of the Engineering and Design Services Industry and a new Engineering Business Sentiment report for Q4 2021.
The data shows the industry has rebounded from project postponements due to COVID, though firms identify a tight labor market and lack of qualified workers as continued barriers to growth across public and private markets.
This is the second annual release of the Engineering and Design Services industry assessment, which tracks the industry's economic contributions, analyzes key economic drivers, and forecasts industry growth.
Snapshot of the Engineering and Design Services Industry:
1.5 million direct full- and part-time jobs
$97,300 average yearly wages
$338 billion in industry sales
$198 billion direct economic contribution
$105 billion collected in total federal, state & local tax
Both reports, the 2021 Economic Assessment of the Engineering and Design Services Industry and the Engineering Business Sentiment report for Q4 2021, are available for download by clicking
here.
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The ACEC Research Institute is the research arm of the American Council of Engineering Companies – the business association of the nation's engineering industry. The ACEC Research Institute's mission is to deliver knowledge and business strategies that guide and elevate the engineering industry and to be the leading source of knowledge and thought leadership for creating a more sustainable, safe, secure and technically advanced built environment. For more information, go to www.acecresearchinstitute.org.
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