Louisiana's 3ed Circuit hurricane insurance ruling

[RB TexLa]

Louisiana court curbs hurricane insurance recovery

By Jonathan Stempel

NEW YORK, Aug 29 (Reuters) - A divided Louisiana state appeals court has ruled that people who lost their homes in hurricanes are not necessarily entitled to recover the full amount of their losses if their insurance policies covered only some perils but not others.

Tuesday's decision by Louisiana's Third Circuit Court of Appeal is a partial victory for the insurance industry, which has for two years battled Gulf Coast homeowners over the amounts it must pay to cover damage from several storms, including Hurricanes Katrina, Dennis, Rita and Wilma.

It is less favorable to insurers than an Aug. 6 ruling by the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans, in a case involving State Farm Fire & Casualty Co, concerning similar issues and the same state law.

In a 3-2 decision, the Louisiana appeals panel said a lower court erred in ruling that, under the state's Valued Policy Law, homeowners could recover in full for the total destruction of their homes, even if covered perils such as wind and rain were not solely responsible for the loss.

http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idUKN2937534020070829?rpc=44


Link to ruling

http://www.la3circuit.org/opinions/2007/08/082807/07-0247opi.pdf