California Supreme Court Cases (Insurance) Pending December 2017

California Supreme Court Cases (Insurance) Pending as of December 1, 2017

The California Supreme Court website indicates that the following cases, which have some relevance to insurance issues are currently pending before the court. See below for more about California Supreme Court Cases (Insurance) Pending December 2017.

Six cases cited below in this post California Supreme Court Cases (Insurance) Pending December 2017

UPDATES: Pending California Supreme Court Cases Insurance-Related (see updates) May 2018.

UPDATES: DECIDED California Supreme Court Cases Involving Insurance May 2018 and those in 2017.

California Supreme Court Cases (Insurance) Pending December 2017

California State Seal - California Supreme Court Cases

Heckart v. A-1 Self Storage, Inc., S232322

Heckart v. A-1 Self Storage, Inc., S232322.  (D066831; 243 Cal.App.4th 525; San Diego County Superior Court; 37-2013-00042315-CU-BT-CTL.)  Petition for review after the Court of Appeal affirmed the judgment in a civil action.  This case presents the following issue:  Was a self-storage facility’s storage rental agreement, which included provisions arguably meeting the definition of “insurance” (see Ins. Code, §§ 22, 1758.75), subject to regulation under the Insurance Code when the principal purpose of the agreement between the parties was the rental of storage space rather than the shifting and distribution of risk?  Status:  fully briefed; extension of time granted to permit Amicus to file briefs.  As of Dec. 1, 2017 court reports case is fully briefed.

STATUS

Fully Briefed

Heimlich v. Shivji, S243029

Heimlich v. Shivji, S243029.  (H042641; 12 Cal.App.5th 152; Santa Clara County Superior Court; CV231939.)  Petition for review after the Court of Appeal reversed an order denying a motion for costs.  This case presents the following issue:  When a party to an arbitration proceeding makes an offer of compromise pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure section 998 and obtains a result in the arbitration more favorable to it than that offer, how, when, and from whom does that party request costs as provided under section 998?   Status:  Case is fully briefed; Oral argument should be scheduled soon.

STATUS

Fully Briefed

Liberty Surplus Ins. Corp. v. Ledesma & Meyers Construction Co., Inc., S236765

Liberty Surplus Ins. Corp. v. Ledesma & Meyers Construction Co., Inc., S236765.  (9th Cir. No. 14-56120; __ F.3d __, 2016 WL 4434589; Central District of California; No. 2:12-cv-00900-RGK-SP.)  Request under California Rules of Court, rule 8.548, that this court decide questions of California law presented in a matter pending in the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.  The question presented is:  “Whether there is an ‘occurrence’ under an employer’s commercial general liability policy when an injured third party brings claims against the employer for the negligent hiring, retention, and supervision of the employee who intentionally injured the third party.”  Status:  case is fully briefed; Response due to Amicus Brief filed in July. Court reports case is fully briefed;  Oral arguments should be scheduled soon.

STATUS

Fully Briefed

Lopez v. Sony Electronics, Inc., S235357

Lopez v. Sony Electronics, Inc., S235357.  (B256792; 247 Cal.App.4th 444; Los Angeles County Superior Court; BC476544.)  Petition for review after the Court of Appeal affirmed the judgment in a civil action.  This case presents the following issue:  Does the six-year limitations period in Code of Civil Procedure section 340.4, which governs actions based on birth and pre-birth injuries and is not subject to tolling for minority, or the two-year limitations period in Code of Civil Procedure section 340.8, which applies to actions for injury based upon exposure to a toxic substance and is subject to tolling for minority, govern an action alleging pre-birth injuries due to exposure to a toxic substance.   Status:  fully briefed.   The case does not directly involve insurance coverage issues, but may have impact on underwriting decisions.

STATUS

Fully Briefed

McMillin Albany LLC v. Superior Court, S229762

McMillin Albany LLC v. Superior Court, S229762.  (F069370; 239 Cal.App.4th 1132; Kern County Superior Court; CV279141DRL.)  Petition for review after the Court of Appeal granted a petition for peremptory writ of mandate.  This case presents the following issue:  Does the Right to Repair Act (Civ. Code, § 895 et seq.) preclude a homeowner from bringing common law causes of action for defective conditions that resulted in physical damage to the home?  Status:  Fully briefed;  Argued;  pending decision

STATUS

Fully Briefed
Argued
Pending Decision

Montrose Chemical Corp. v. Superior Court, S244737

Montrose Chemical Corp. v. Superior Court, S244737.  (B272387; 14 Cal.App.5th 1306; Los Angeles County Superior Court; BC005158.)  Petition for review after the Court of Appeal granted in part and denied in part a petition for peremptory writ of mandate.  This case presents the following issue:  When continuous property damage occurs during several periods for which an insured purchased multiple layers of excess insurance, does the rule of “horizontal exhaustion” require the insured to exhaust excess insurance at lower levels for all periods before obtaining coverage from higher level excess insurance in any period?  Status:  case was just accepted by the court.  Briefing schedule to be set and parties to brief issue.

STATUS

Case just accepted by the court. Briefing schedule to be set and parties to brief issue.

California Supreme Court Cases (Insurance) Pending December 2017

Previous Articles on California Supreme Court Pending and Decided Cases

On TheAndersonEdge.com website you can find information on previous California Supreme Court pending cases as well as decided cases.

California Supreme Court Cases

This post California Supreme Court Cases (Insurance) Pending December 2017 will be updated periodically as cases are decided which you can review on the 2017 Decided Cases and 2018 Decided Cases posts on our site. To learn more about The AndersonEdge insurance expert witness services and consulting services we provide please view our areas of expertise on this site or contact us.

California Supreme Court Earl Warren Building San Francisco- Sanfranman59 Wiki CC

Supreme Court of California – Main Courthouse in San Francisco.  Photo credit and source