Page 28 - Reservation of Rights - Special Edition

LOUISIANA
Notice
When an insurer intends to defend under a reservation of rights, it must do so “promptly.” Arceneaux v. Amstar Corp., 969 So. 2d 755 (La. Ct. App. 4th 2007).
In Peters v. State Farm, the court held the insurer, who learned of the claim in January 1992 and issued reservation of rights letters in February, concluded its investigation and timely disclaimed coverage based on the policy exclusion on April
9, 1992. Peters v. State Farm Fire & Cas. Ins. Co., No. 09-645, 2009 WL 1941240 (E.D. La. July 2, 2009).
Content
A reservation of rights letter which does not “quote the appli- cable provision” but instead simply cites the provision and also provides the number of the applicable endorsement form does not render the reservation of rights letter insufficient so as to create a waiver of coverage. Orleans Parish School Bd. v. Lex- ington Ins. Co., 118 So.3d 1203, 1220 (La. Ct. App. 4th 2013).
A non-waiver agreement or reservation of rights letter should state that “the insurer retains its rights to defend itself based on the alleged insured’s lack of coverage under [the] policy.” No- tice of a reservation of rights should also state the specific terms
In Hiser v. Rajki, an insurer, with knowledge of facts indicating non-coverage under the insurance policy, assumed and contin- ued the insured’s defense, waiting until 21 days before trial to assert an agreement reserving its rights. The court held that the agreement was untimely and the insurer had waived any such policy defense(s). Hiser v. Rajki, 700 So. 2d 1302 (La. Ct. App. 1st 1997).
In Cassey v. Stewart, a reservation of rights letter to the insured was timely when sent by the insurer one year and eight months after a lawsuit was filed against the insurer. Cassey v. Stewart, 727 So. 2d 655 (La. Ct. App. 2d 1999).
2018 ReseRvation of Rights - special edition
LOUISIANA
Johnson, Yacoubian & Paysse is a civil litigation firm which was formed in 1991 by three local defense attorneys having combined experience of over seventy years in the private practice of law. The firm represents large insurance underwriters and major corporations in complex litigation as well as
small corporations and individuals. We strive to strike a balance between the traditional one-to-one relationship of attorney and client and the demands of today’s increasingly complex legal problems that often require the combined attention of several lawyers.
Johnson, Yacoubian & Paysse’s offices, which are located in downtown New Orleans, are in close proximity to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, the United States Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, the Louisiana Supreme Court and several Louisiana State District and Appellate Courts. The size and composition of the firm affords clients personal service that is not always available with larger law firms. The firm also maintains a paraprofessional staff, computerized research, document indexing and retrieval systems and advanced word processing systems. Modern technology enables us to provide quality legal services in a prompt and efficient fashion.
Practice Areas: Admiralty and Maritime; Automobile Liability; Commercial Litigation; Enaergy/ Offshore Litigation; Federal and State Workers’ Compensation; General Casualty; Insurance Defense and Coverage Litigation; Medical Malpractice; Premises Liability; Products Liability; Toxic Torts; Trucking and Transportation Litigation.
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