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About the Amicus Library
Welcome to the Amicus Project library. Here you will find copies of the 400+ legal briefs United Policyholders has filed as an "amicus curiae" (friend of the court) since 1991. We file amicus briefs to help courts respect and effectuate consumers' reasonable expectations of coverage and reach fair results in coverage and claim dispute lawsuits. In addition to calling courts' attention to helpful legal precedents, UP helps judges consider the impact of their decisions on people and businesses that suffer dire consequences when insurance companies put their own profit motives ahead of their customers' best interests.
The United Policyholders Amicus Project is made possible by the hundreds of dedicated policyholder attorneys who generously volunteer their time to write, review and edit our briefs. Click here to view the attorneys who make up our Amicus Project Team.
To request that UP weigh in on a case, please complete this Request Form.
UP chronicled our Amicus Project in a 2011 report titled "Twenty Years Protecting, Defending and Advancing Policyholders Rights"
Amicus Library
Year:
2016
Court:
California Court of Appeal
Issue:
State:
California
UP submitted a request to depublish a portion of an appellate opinion which improperly made a finding of fact about an insurance bad faith dispute.
Year:
2016
Court:
U.S. Court of Appeals, 10th Circuit
Issue:
Underinsurance
State:
Colorado
After wildfires and other major disasters that result in total losses, many homeowners find themselves underinsured.
Year:
2016
Court:
Colorado Court of Appeals
Issue:
Notice Prejudice
State:
Colorado
Colorado's notice-prejudice protects policyholders from a forfeiture of coverage for late reporting of a claim by requiring the insurer to show actual prejudice as a result of the late reporting... Read more
Year:
2016
Court:
U.S. Court of Appeals, 11th Circuit
Issue:
Duty to Defend, Construction Defect
State:
Florida
Under Florida law, the duty to defend under a liability policy is triggered when the complaint brought by a third party against the insured alleges any cause of action or damages that create even... Read more
Year:
2016
Court:
Oregon Supreme Court
Issue:
Contract Interpretation, Ambiguous terms
State:
Oregon
In an insurer v.
Year:
2016
Court:
California Supreme Court
Issue:
Reasonable Expectations/Contra Proferentem, Contract Interpretation
State:
California
In a theft case, UP submitted a letter supporting review on two grounds: First, the trial and appellate courts erred in allowing a motion for summary judgment to survive despite a reasonable... Read more
Year:
2016
Court:
Tennessee Supreme Court
Issue:
Punitive Damages, Bad Faith (Tortious Breach of an Insurance Contract)
State:
Tennessee
In many jurisdictions when an insurance company breaches an insurance contract, it not only is required to pay what it owed originally and wrongfully delayed or denied, it also must pay a
Year:
2016
Court:
New Jersey Supreme Court
Issue:
What is an occurrence, Reasonable expectations
State:
New Jersey
The vast majority of states that have addressed the issue of what is an "occurrence" under a commercial general liability policy have reached the conclusion that construction defect claims are... Read more
Year:
2016
Court:
California Supreme Court (California Court of Appeal, Second Appellate District, Division One)
Issue:
Replacement Cost Value, Regulatory Authority, Underinsurance
State:
California
In response to the widespread underinsurance crisis following the 2003 and 2007 San Diego wildfires, the California Department of Insurance promulgated a set of regulations which required agents/... Read more
Year:
2016
Court:
U.S. Court of Appeals, 3rd Circuit
Issue:
Contract Interpretation, Ambiguous Terms
State:
Pennsylvania
Under Pennsylvania law, insurers have the burden to prove that an exception applies in order to deny coverage.