Justia Insurance Law Opinion Summaries

Sweet Valley Missionary Baptist Church appealed a circuit court order denying its request for prejudgment interest against Alfa Insurance Company. This suit arose from a 2005 insurance claim Sweet Valley filed with Alfa Insurance Corporation (“Alfa”), following storm damage to its property caused by Hurricane Katrina. Sweet Valley had a commercial insurance policy with Alfa Insurance. Sweet Valley filed suit against Alfa for breach of contract and alleged that Alfa had undervalued its claim. Sweet Valley requested prejudgment interest in its complaint. It was determined that Sweet Valley was entitled to $462,761.89. Alfa remitted the full amount to Sweet Valley. Subsequently, Alfa filed a motion for summary judgment, alleging that, since an appraisal had been conducted and it already had paid Sweet Valley $462,761.89, no genuine issues remained. The trial court granted Alfa’s motion. Because there was no judgment in this instance upon which interest could accrue, the Supreme Court affirmed the trial court’s judgment. View "Sweet Valley Missionary Baptist Church v. Alfa Insurance Corporation" on Justia Law

In an interlocutory appeal, Pekin Insurance Company challenged the denial of its motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction. Pekin was an Illinois company not licensed to sell insurance in Mississippi. Pekin asserted it had not entered into a contract with a Mississippi Resident, had not committed a tort in Mississippi and had not done any business in Mississippi-- making in ineligible to be subject to the jurisdiction of Mississippi courts under the Mississippi long-arm statute. The Mississippi Supreme Court, after review of the facts of this case, found that Pekin voluntarily submitted itself to Mississippi's jurisdiction in federal court when it asked that court to resolve the same coverage dispute over which it claimed here that Mississippi courts had no jurisdiction. The Court accordingly affirmed the trial court here in denying Pekin's motion to dismiss, and remanded the case for further proceedings. View "Pekin Insurance Company v. Hinton" on Justia Law

Cherri Porter’s beachfront vacation home was completely destroyed during Hurricane Katrina. Porter claimed the destruction was the result of a barge, owned by Grand Casino of Mississippi, Inc.–Biloxi, breaking free from its moorings and alliding with her home. Because Porter’s all-risk insurance policy excluded from coverage damage caused by water or windstorm, State Farm Fire and Casualty Company denied Porter’s claim. Porter filed suit against the insurance agent who maintained the policy, Max Mullins, against State Farm, and against Grand Casino. The trial court granted summary judgment in favor of each defendant, and the Court of Appeals affirmed. Porter filed a petition for writ of certiorari claiming genuine issues of fact existed as to each defendant, and the Mississippi Supreme Court granted her petition. Because Porter’s all-risk insurance policy unambiguously excluded from coverage loss that would not have occurred absent water damage, no genuine issue of material fact existed as to Porter’s bad-faith denial of coverage claim against State Farm. Additionally, Porter failed to produce sufficient evidence showing a genuine issue of fact as to whether Grand Casino breached its duty to take reasonable measures to prevent foreseeable injury. The Court therefore affirmed the decisions of the trial court and of the Court of Appeals as to all issues. View "Porter v. Grand Casino of Mississippi, Inc.- Biloxi" on Justia Law

Safeway Insurance issued Tiffany Dukes an automobile insurance policy on her car. Dukes' boyfriend, Robert Hudson, was driving Dukes' car when he was involved in an accident that injured Jeffrey Piggs. Dukes sought coverage for the accident under her policy, but Safeway disputed coverage, claiming the policy was void due to Dukes' failure to list Hudson as a regular, frequent driver on her application for insurance. The trial court granted Safeway partial summary judgment because Dukes and Hudson refused to cooperate with Safeway’s investigation; however, the trial court also found that Safeway was responsible to provide $25,000 of liability coverage, even though Hudson was not listed as a regular, frequent driver on the policy. Following the trial court’s denial of a motion for reconsideration, Safeway appealed, via petition for interlocutory appeal, to the Court. Finding that the trial court erred in its holding, the Supreme Court reversed and rendered summary judgment in Safeway's favor. View "Safeway Insurance Co. v.Dukes" on Justia Law

William Greenwood owned Antique Wood Company of Mississippi (Greenwood), which was in the business of buying salvage rights to old buildings for the purpose of stripping and selling the buildings’ lumber, bricks, and other materials. After a lawsuit was filed against Greenwood, Greenwood’s insurers, located in Rankin County and Grenada County, denied indemnity coverage. Greenwood sued the insurers in the Circuit Court of Hinds County, alleging breach of contract, conspiracy, and bad faith. Following a grant of a motion for change of venue to the defendants, Greenwood filed the instant petition for interlocutory appeal, which the Supreme Court granted. Greenwood asserted that venue was proper in Warren County. The Supreme Court agreed and reversed the judgment of the Circuit Court. The case was remanded for transfer to the Circuit Court of Warren County. View "Greenwood v. MESA Underwriters Specialty Ins. Co." on Justia Law

The State of Mississippi brought a civil action against generic pharmaceutical provider Sandoz, Inc., alleging that Sandoz impermissibly exploited Mississippi’s Medicaid reimbursement program by routinely and exponentially reporting fictitious “Average Wholesale Prices,” a key data factor in the federally supervised formula used by the Mississippi Division of Medicaid to reimburse pharmacies serviced by Sandoz. The trial court, sitting as fact-finder, found Sandoz in violation of the Mississippi Consumer Protection Act and liable for common-law fraud. Sandoz appealed, and the State cross-appealed. On a deferential standard of review, the Supreme Court affirmed the trial court in full. View "Sandoz, Inc. v. Mississippi" on Justia Law