Strategies, Challenges, and Answers

Happy Thanksgiving From Bauman Loewe Witt & Maxwell

All of us at Bauman Loewe Witt & Maxwell would like to take a moment to wish our clients, family and friends (including all of our loyal blog readers), a very Joyous and Happy Thanksgiving. Whether you are celebrating with a small gathering, or preparing for what is shaping up to be dinner for a small country, we wish you and yours all the very best. … [Read more...]

Replacement Value Not ACV Is The Proper Measure Of Damages In A Homeowner’s Theft Claim Where Policy Provides For Same

Victor and Arlene Havas took issue with the way their homeowner’s insurance company, Atlantic Insurance Company valued the property that they lost because of a theft at their home.  Mr. & Mrs. Havas submitted their claim to the insurance company seeking recovery of the value of the lost property.  The Havas’s insurance policy provided that recovery would be limited to an amount not exceeding either the cost of repair or replacement of the property with material of like kind and … [Read more...]

How Much Information Does a “Claims-Made” Carrier Need to Receive During the Policy Period to Trigger Coverage?

The dentist had a lot of explaining to do.  The authorities had arrested him for drug trafficking and had charged him with distribution of cocaine.  The dental board had received complaints that he was using cocaine and was giving it to his patients.  The board even suspended his license. His malpractice insurance company was aware of all of these allegations of malfeasance during the coverage period of his “claims-made-and-reported” policy.  The one thing that the insurance company did not … [Read more...]

Nevada’s Unfair Claims Settlement Practices Act Does Not Create A Third-Party Private Right Of Action

Nevada is one of a handful of states that creates a private right of action for violations of its Unfair Claims Settlement Practice Act, NRS 686A.310.  Subsection (2) of the statute provides that “an insurer is liable to its insured for any damages sustained by the insured as a result of the commission of any act set forth in subsection 1 as an unfair practice.”  Third-party claimants have asked whether this private right of action extends to them.  The answer from the Nevada Supreme Court is a … [Read more...]

Nevada Does Not Recognize Third-Party Bad Faith

Greg Gunny claimed that his father Ralph negligently operated his boat and injured him. Greg wasn’t happy with the speed at which his father’s insurance, Allstate, was handling the claim.  Greg Gunny sued Allstate directly for bad faith. In the case of Gunny v. Allstate Ins. Co., 108 Nev. 344, 830 P.2d 1335 (1992) the Nevada Supreme Court addressed the question of whether the third-party son had a cause of action for bad faith directly against his father’s insurance company.  The Nevada … [Read more...]