November 2021 – Duane Morris Insurance Law

By Max H. Stern and Holden Benon

The first California state appellate decision on COVID-19 Business Interruption coverage is now in the books, and it’s one more victory for insurers. In The Inns by the Sea v. California Mutual Ins. Co., Case No. D079036 (Cal. Ct. App. 4th Dist., Div. 1, Nov. 15, 2021), the California Court of Appeal for the Fourth District found there was no coverage, notwithstanding the absence of a virus exclusion in the relevant policy. The court’s 36-page opinion provides a thorough and careful analysis of several important COVID-19-related business interruption issues, some highlights of which we summarize below.

Inns-by-the Sea operates lodges in the California coastal communities of Carmel and Half Moon Bay. In March of 2020, Inns closed its facilities in response to shutdown orders issued by Monterey and San Mateo counties. Then, Inns made a claim under its property insurance policy for its claimed loss of business income caused by the pandemic. (For more background on business interruption insurance, refer to one of our earlier blog posts on this topic.) Inns’ insurer denied coverage, and Inns filed suit in Monterey Superior Court.

Continue reading “Yet Another Win for Insurers on COVID-19 Business Interruption Claims: The Inns by the Sea California Court of Appeal Decision”

By: Kathryn K. Schultz

Long-standing California law explicitly precluded recovery of damages for a decedent’s pain, suffering, or disfigurement in a survival action (i.e. a cause of action that survives the death of a plaintiff and passes to decedent’s successor in interest per Cal. Code of Civil Procedure [“C.C.P.”] § 377.30). On October 1, 2021, California Governor Gavin Newsom approved Senate Bill Number 447 amending C.C.P. Section 337.34 to permit recovery of such damages. The new law takes effect on January 1, 2022 and will increase the price to resolve survival actions in California.

The new law applies to (1) new cases filed on or after January 1, 2022, and before January 1, 2026, and (2) to an action or proceeding that was granted trial preference pursuant to C.C.P. Sec. 36 before January 1, 2022. Plaintiffs who recover damages pursuant to this new law are required to report to the Judicial Council, who will in turn report to the Legislature for evaluation of whether to extend or further amend the law in 2026.

Senate Bill 447 was co-sponsored by the Consumer Attorneys of California and Consumer Federation of California. The main three arguments in support of the bill were: (1) California was one of only five states that prohibits recovery of a decedent’s pain and suffering in a survival action; (2) the prior law provided a “death discount” to defendants – creating an incentive to act in bad faith and delay trials hoping the plaintiffs will die in order to receive this discount; and (3) the incentive to delay trials created a burden on the court system.

Continue reading “California Raises the Price of Survival Actions – Will Allow Recovery of Decedent’s Pain, Suffering, or Disfigurement”