Versai Mgmt. Corp. v. Clarendon Am. Ins. Co.
(U.S. 5th Cir., Commercial Law, Contracts, Insurance Law, Property Law & Real Estate, Remedies) In an action against an insurer brought after a number of apartment buildings managed by plaintiff sustained damage during Hurricane Katrina, raising contract claims for unpaid insurance proceeds and claims that defendants violated Louisiana law by failing to promptly settle claims and by misrepresenting the terms of their policies, summary judgment for defendants is affirmed in part where, under the policy, plaintiff was not entitled to costs of compliance until after it had incurred the expenses of code compliance. However, the judgment is reversed in part where: 1) the district court was not at liberty to grant summary judgment based on plaintiff’s “failure” to support its proofs of loss with additional documentation where the insurance policy created no such obligation; and 2) there was an issue of material fact suggesting that plaintiff was entitled to compensation for business-interruption losses.
