Strauss v. Chubb Indemnity Ins. Co., et al., No. 13-2580 (7th Cir. 2014, Nov. 18, 2014)
Nov 18, 2014OUTCOME: Judgment awarding property insurance coverage to our policyholder clients was affirmed by the Seventh Circuit on appeal.
Policyholders' home suffered unknown, latent water damage over a period of 16 years. Chubb denied insurance coverage claim because, although damage occurred during its policy periods, damage did not ma ... nifest until after Chubb's policy periods ended. Chubb also argued that the policyholders' suit was not timely because it was not filed within one year "after the inception of the loss," as required by the Wisconsin Statues, despite the fact that the policy required suit to be filed within one year "after a loss occurs." The Seventh Circuit looked to Chubb's policy language when deciding what coverage was available. The Court held that continuous trigger theory applied to the first-party policy and that, because loss occurred during Chubb's policy periods, Chubb was required to pay the claim. The Court also held that Chubb modified the statutory limitation period by its policy language and that the policyholders' suit was timely filed. The Court affirmed the decision and judgment entered by the Eastern District of Wisconsin.
