KEVIN J. SMITH Representative Insurance Cases

Representative Insurance Cases

Mr. Smith is a firm believer in the concept that if you know more about insurance coverage than your opponent, you will prevail. He is on the cutting edge of changes in the law and utilizes many sources to craft the most succinct and insightful arguments to the court in favor of coverage. Here are some cases that illustrate the influence of knowledge:

§ A commercial strawberry grower had its plantings accidentally sprayed by a crop-duster hired by its neighbor. The plants were inspected and believed to be unaffected by the spraying. The plants were sold to hundreds of strawberry farmers and planted in their fields. The plants failed to produce the expected quality and quantity of berries and the growers sued the policyholder. The insurance company refused to defend or indemnify the policyholder strawberry grower. The cases filed by the farmers against the policyholder were settled and an action was filed against the insurance company. Mr. Smith filed a motion for summary judgment contending that the insurer owed a duty to defend the policyholder. The court agreed and the insurance company filed an appeal. The appellate court agreed in a published decision with Mr. Smith’s reasoning and affirmed the trial court’s determination that a defense was indeed owed. The case was settled shortly thereafter for approximately $4,000,000;

§ An individual purchased a disability policy and was injured prior to the policy being issued. The insurance company denied his claim for benefits contending that the policy was not yet in force at the time of the injury. Mr. Smith brought an action against the insurer and filed a motion for summary judgment contending that despite the fact that the policy had not been issued, the policyholder paid the initial premium. The court agreed and determined that the policy was indeed in effect when the policyholder injured himself. The case was settled shortly thereafter for approximately $900,000;

§ The retaining wall of a hotel collapsed causing the hotel to be uninhabitable and a complete loss. The insurer denied the claim made by the owner of the hotel on the ground that the cause of the loss was earth movement. While acknowledging that earth movement was a cause of loss, Mr. Smith brought an action on behalf of the owner of the hotel contending that the predominant cause of the loss was actually the failure of a subterranean “dead man” support system for the retaining wall. The case was settled shortly before trial for approximately $800,000;

§ An operator of an automobile salvage yard was sued for allegedly contaminating a third party’s property. The insurance company refused to defend the policyholder. After the policyholder lost its case at trial, Mr. Smith filed an action on behalf of the policyholder against the insurance company. The case was settled during the first week of trial for approximately $675,000;

§ A roofing contractor that allegedly negligently performed its work resulting in injuries to third parties was sued. The contractor’s insurance company refused to defend it. Mr. Smith resolved the case against the contractor via binding arbitration. The contractor was not personally liable for the award. Mr. Smith then filed an action against the insurer. Mr. Smith filed a motion for summary judgment on behalf of the contractor and the court determined that the contractor owed a defense to the action. In the final analysis, the contractor that got sued ended up with a $150,000 settlement from the insurance company. The insurer also paid the damages awarded to the third party in the arbitration.