Scorched earth: Pesticide applicator seeks coverage DeMeester’s Flower Shop and Greenhouse, Inc., operated a flower shop and lawn care business in Freeport, Illinois. On May 10 and 13, 2013, one of its employees negligently mixed glyphosate (an herbicide, commonly known as Roundup) instead of Eliminate (a selective broadleaf herbicide) in a lawn sprayer. As a result, the employee severely damaged 26 lawns of customers. The flower shop incurred substantial expense
Court Decisions
A question of dates Jonathan Loomis applied for an automobile policy from State Farm Fire & Casualty Company with underinsured motorist coverage in the amount of $50,000. Upon Loomis’s application, a binder was granted to Loomis, but before the policy documents were issued, Loomis was involved in an accident. Loomis settled with the at-fault driver for her policy limits of $50,000, and State Farm took the position that because the
A divergence of interests in mortgage clause On February 20, 2009, Mark and Rhonda Hongsermeier executed a mortgage with GSF Mortgage Corporation for property located in Rockford, Illinois. The owners resided in the property from November 2004 through November 2010. The mortgage was subsequently assigned to GMAC Bank and later transferred to GMAC Mortgage, LLC (GMACM). On February 21, 2011, Stonegate Insurance Company issued the owners a hazard policy to cover
Underinsured driver: Yes or no? On September 29, 2011, Matthew Wallace was driving south on Route 26 in Woodstock; Freja Folce and her minor daughter Zoe were passengers in the vehicle. Corey Hill, who was driving in the opposite direction in a vehicle owned by his employer, Twin Pines Construction, Inc., lost control while attempting to pass another vehicle, crossed the center line, and collided with Wallace’s vehicle. The accident
Parsing the CGL: For want of a soil test Joey and Sonya Brown hired Tibke Construction, Inc., as a general contractor to build a new house in Brandon, South Dakota. Tibke hired Jerry’s Excavating, Inc., as a subcontractor to prepare the soil and perform excavation work. In October 2012 Tibke completed the project. On September 3, 2014, the Browns sued Tibke and Jerry’s Excavating for negligent construction and breach of
