Florida's Supreme Court has upheld the standard so-called "Household Exclusion" in an Auto Liability Insurance Policy. It is not ambiguous, the Court held, and so it can be applied to Exclude all Coverage for Bodily Injury Damages claimed by members of the Additional Insured's household. State Farm Mutual Auto. Insurance Co. v. Menendez, 2011 WL 3715044 *1 (Fla. Case No. SC10-116, Opinion Filed August 25, 2011; STATED NONFINAL)(authorized password required to access Westlaw).
Ambiguity in an Exclusion, however, does not necessarily mean that the Exclusion at issue in a given case does not apply. An interpretation of ambiguity only means that the Insurance Policy provision will be interpreted strictly against the Insurance Company which drafted it. It may still apply, as in the case of Download Certain Underwriters at Lloyd's, London v. Abundance Coal, Inc. (Ky. Ct. App. Case No. 2009.CA.001283, Order Reversing, Vacating and Remanding) PUBLIC ACCESS, also published as 2011 WL 2496203 *3 - *5 (Ky. Ct. App. June 24, 2011; case involved Commercial General Liability Insurance Policy's standard "Absolute Pollution Exclusion" in this regard)(authorized password required to access Westlaw).
The 22nd Annual Bad Faith Litigation Conference of the American Conference Institute is being held in 2011 in Orlando, Florida. The author will be speaking. Here is a link to the American Conference Institute Website Page which features this Conference including registration, if you or someone you know would like to attend.
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