In December 2020, Plaintiff Erin Hughes applied for homeowners coverage for her Malibu home with her Farmers’ insurance agent. Hughes obtained a fire policy through the California FAIR Plan and a homeowners policy through Farmers that insured the property against perils not covered by the FAIR Plan policy.Continue Reading An Insurer is not Vicariously Liable for Actions by an Agent That Are Outside the Scope of the Agency Relationship and Were Performed in the Agent’s Dual Role as a Broker
Mostafavi Law Group, APC v. Larry Rabineau, APC, et al., 2021 WL 803685 (March 3, 2021); Second Appellate District Court of Appeal, Division Four, Case No. B302344 (March 3, 2021).
California Code of Civil Procedure section 998 Offers to Compromise are an effective and widely-used settlement tool in litigation. The main objective of a Section 998 Offer “is to encourage settlement by providing a strong financial disincentive to a party – whether it be a plaintiff or a defendant – who fails to achieve a better result than the party could have achieved by accepting his or her opponent’s settlement offer.” Bank of San Pedro v. Sup. Ct., 3 Cal.4th 797, 804 (1992). In the event an offeree rejects a Section 998 Offer and fails to achieve a better result at trial, Section 998 shifts certain costs to the offeree, including the offeror’s reasonable expert costs. This case answers whether acceptance of a Section 998 Offer, served without a required acceptance provision, gives rise to a valid judgment. It does not.
Continue Reading Statutory Offer To Compromise Void Without Express Acceptance Provision
McMillin Homes Constr., Inc. v. National Fire & Marine Ins. Co., 35 Cal.App.5th 1042 (2019); Fourth Appellate District Court of Appeal, Division One, Case No. D074219 (June 5, 2019).
Continue Reading Court Finds That “Care, Custody Or Control” Exclusion Did Not Negate Coverage For General Contractor Who Shared Jobsite Supervision