The Missouri Supreme Court recently affirmed a trial court’s order denying an insurance company’s motion to intervene and set aside a judgment that was entered following the plaintiffs’ contract with a defendant to limit recovery of the judgment against the insurance company pursuant to Missouri Statute Section 537.065. Desai, M.D., et al. v. Seneca Specialty Insurance Company, SC97361.
Plaintiffs Dr. Neil Desai and Heta Desai filed a lawsuit for personal injuries against defendant Garcia Empire, LLC. Garcia Empire had a commercial general liability policy issued by ...
On May 1, 2019, Senate Bill 7 was passed as part of the Missouri legislature’s overarching goal to refine Missouri’s broad venue rules, which previously had allowed plaintiffs to pursue their claims in Missouri venues with no connection to their injuries or events which led to their injuries.
Particular provisions of the new venue rules apply specifically to lawsuits involving claims against insurance companies. First, Sections 375.1800 and 508.010 now provide that domestic and foreign insurance companies are deemed a resident of the county where their registered offices ...
The Missouri Court of Appeals, Southern District, issued an opinion on Jan. 31, 2018, in Shelter Mutual Insurance Company v. Lester that allowed stacking of full auto liability coverage policy limits on four separate policies. The underlying matter involved bodily injury claims brought by multiple claimants. Each of the auto insurer’s liability policies had applicable bodily injury limits of $50,000 per person / $100,000 per accident. Each policy also had the following anti-stacking provision:
If more than one policy issued by Shelter Mutual Insurance Company or Shelter ...
In its October 31, 2017, opinion in Doe Run Resources Corp. v. American Guarantee & Liability Ins., the Missouri Supreme Court considered whether a general liability policy’s pollution exclusion barred coverage for alleged bodily harm caused by exposure to toxic emissions emanating from Doe Run’s lead production facilities in La Oroya, Peru. The exclusion removed coverage for “injury or damage or medical expenses that result from pollution at, on, in…or from any…protected person’s premises.” The policy defined “pollution” to mean “any actual, alleged ...
Over the past few years, insurance companies have learned that handling liability claims in Missouri with coverage issues or policy-limit settlement demands can be an incredibly complex, and in some cases, dangerous endeavor. Much of that complexity stems from Missouri Revised Statute § 537.065, a statute which has been used as a powerful sword against carriers to collect rather large judgments in many cases.
On April 26, 2017, the Missouri General Assembly voted to repeal the current § 537.065 and replace it with a modified version. That replacement, House Bill 339, was signed into ...
