Search results for: chip merlin

Since 1983, Chip Merlin has served as a plaintiff’s attorney with a focus on commercial & residential property insurance claim disputes and bad faith insurance litigation. Chip is a noted national authority on insurance bad faith, lecturing to national trade groups and publishing a number of papers and articles on the subject for organizations such as The American Association for Justice, The Florida Justice Association, The Windstorm Insurance Network, and Trial Magazine.

As founder and president of Merlin Law Group, Chip has dedicated his practice to the representation and advocacy of insurance policyholders in disputes with insurance companies nationwide.

Chip served as Chair for the Bad Faith Insurance Litigation Group and Secretary for the Fire and Property Insurance Litigation Group for the American Association for Justice (formerly known as the Association of Trial Lawyers of America). He was also Vice-Chair for the Subcommittee on Property Insurance Law for the American Bar Association.
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Late notice of loss lead to denials in Florida at a very high rate. Insurers claim that they are prejudiced and that a presumption of prejudice arises from late notice. A federal trial court has questioned older legal authority about whether a presumption exists and whether the insurer bears the burden to prove prejudice based on policy language.1 Continue Reading Is Your Denial Based on Late Notice of Loss—Who Has To Prove Prejudice?

A routine roof claim has significant results for Missouri property insurance adjustment. Some insurance companies try to chisel away at amounts owed by making up new arguments and pressing them in court. A Missouri appellate court had none of that, holding insurers should not deprecate labor when calculating actual cash value.1 Continue Reading Do Not Depreciate Labor When Calculating Actual Cash Value—Missouri Appellate Court Upholds Policyholder Win

In a paper worthy of law review publication, Michael Cassel has written an excellent review of Florida’s changing law regarding replacement cost and actual cash value. Exploring The Application of Actual Cash Value Versus Replacement Cost Value in Florida Property Insurance Claims, is a must read for anybody wanting to have a full understanding of Florida’s somewhat complex and changing treatment of replacement cost recovery versus actual cash value. Continue Reading Florida Replacement Cost and Actual Cash Value: A Study by Michael Cassel

Ordinance and Law coverage is often overlooked and confusing when trying to figure out how it is applied to a loss. Most property insurance policies first exclude the increased costs caused by ordinances and laws and then give it back through endorsements or additional coverages subject to limits. Just the meaning of the exclusion, without considering the gap-filling coverage, is confusing for many and wrongly used by insurers to deny what should be a direct payment under general coverage A repair costs. Continue Reading What Does Demolition and Value Mean Under Coverage A of the Ordinance and Law Coverage?

The same contractor that brought the RICO action against insurers allegedly “zeroing out” insurance claims before conducting investigations has filed a malicious prosecution lawsuit against a law firm that represented an insurer alleging fraud and misrepresentation committed by the contractor.1 The introduction to the malicious prosecution lawsuit filed this month states: Continue Reading Insurance Defense Firm Sued For Malicious Prosecution After Fraud Case Dismissed

Insurance companies should prove the reason for not paying a claim under an all risk insurance policy. The denial should not stand on false opinions of fact. This was the point of a brief filed by a medical society in a covid business income claim pending before the New Hampshire Supreme Court.1 Continue Reading Science Debunks Insurers False Opinions That Covid Does Not Physically Damage Property

One year ago, I got a telephone call from an engineer, Eduard Badiu. It was a little after 6 a.m., and his call woke me up. He called to tell me that people would need my help because a terrible tragedy happened with a condominium collapsing. His voice was afraid. He told me he was on a special task force and was going to the loss. Continue Reading Heroes Arise From the Champlain Towers Condominium Collapse

The United States Supreme Court held in the 1931 case of Hardware Dealers Mutual Fire Insurance Company v. Glidden Company,1 that the appraisal clause found in the Minnesota standard fire insurance policy is constitutional. This post follows the recent post, Does the Appraisal Process Violate the Constitution?, where I analyzed a pending case where the insurance company is arguing that the appraisal “process” is unconstitutional. Continue Reading Supreme Court Has Ruled That the Appraisal Clause in the Standard Fire Policy Is Constitutional