Author Archives: Barry Zalma

Equally Fair Interpretation Favors Insured Post 4685 See the full video at https://rumble.com/v3zqebh-mold-suit-must-be-defended.html and at https://youtu.be/DarYdfMbWns WCPP Risk Purchasing Group, Inc. (“WCPP”) asserted coverage claims under a Commercial General Liability Policy (“Policy”) issued by Defendant, Lexington Insurance Company, on behalf … Continue reading →

Claim Against State Must be Filed in Accord with Statute See the full video at https://rumble.com/v3zlm4i-tardy-claim-allows-judgment-for-defendant.html and at https://youtu.be/DrXR1c0v4tM In Angela Erika Cantu v. California Department Of Transportation et al., F084601, California Court of Appeals (November 30, 2023) Angela Cantu … Continue reading →

Contractor Needs Permission of Insurer to be Protected by an Owner-Controlled Insurance Program Post 4682 See the full video at https://rumble.com/v3zjnd8-never-assume-you-are-insured.html and at https://youtu.be/cp5PjEBh2_w Team Industrial Services, Inc. (Team) found it had incurred a $222 million judgment against it in … Continue reading →

Claim of Disability Because of Stress of Arrest & Conviction Fails Post 4681 See the full video at https://rumble.com/v3z1w38-chutzpah-criminal-seeks-disability-because-his-crime-was-discovered-and-pro.html and at https://youtu.be/90NDhUDIa18 Jason Brand (“Brand”) appealed from the judgment of the district court entered on September 30, 2021, challenging the … Continue reading →

ZIFL – Volume 27 Issue 23 See the full video at https://rumble.com/v3ytton-zalmas-insurance-fraud-letter-december-1-2023.html  and at https://youtu.be/8MIb9QI-G2s The Resource for the Insurance Claims and Insurance Fraud Professionals This, the 22nd issue of the 27th Year of ZIFL includes articles and reports relating … Continue reading →

Why an Amateur’s Attempt at Fraud Failed Post 4679 See the full video at https://rumble.com/v3ylwbq-too-stupid-to-succeed-at-fraud.html and at https://youtu.be/-AfnWKClZ-E This is a fictionalized true crime story of Insurance Fraud explaining why Insurance Fraud is a “Heads I Win, Tails You Lose” … Continue reading →

Fraud in Inception Allows Insurer to Rescind Post 4678 See the full video at https://rumble.com/v3yd183-it-is-expensive-to-lie-to-your-insurer.html  and at https://youtu.be/oLMR9KIIEp4 Lamin Fatty appealed the trial court’s order granting summary disposition to Farm Bureau on the basis of finding Fatty’s fraud was grounds … Continue reading →

Coverage Excluded Cannot be Changed to Coverage Provided See the full video at https://rumble.com/v3y6ehn-unambiguous-policy-terms-must-be-applied.html  and at https://youtu.be/3RbjqMeW_pE An insurance coverage dispute that involved a commercial insurance policy (“the Policy”) that plaintiff, Winfire Management, LLC (“Winfire”) held with defendant, Massachusetts Bay … Continue reading →

Most Insurers Have Rules Prohibiting their Employees to Get Gifts See the full video at https://rumble.com/v3xfec0-the-perfect-gift-for-your-insurance-company-and-insurance-claims-clients.html  and at https://youtu.be/7qPdaA01t3A When I was a young lawyer I tried to give gifts to the claims personnel who referred cases to me and … Continue reading →

Underwriting Against a Certain Loss and Claim is Appropriate See the full video at https://rumble.com/v3xloeq-insurance-does-not-cover-a-sure-thing.html and at https://youtu.be/NRguA8OLZCs The underwriting of an insurance policy requires evaluation of risks of loss faced by the proposed insured. When a proposed insured advises … Continue reading →

USDC Should Have Considered the Intentional Act Statute See the full video at https://rumble.com/v3xfyah-you-win-some-and-you-lose-some.html  and at https://youtu.be/AKrFx1KdgwM California State Grange (“Grange”) brought this action as a judgment creditor of non-party Chico Community Guilds (“Guilds”) seeking to recover from Guilds’ insurer … Continue reading →

Breach of Condition Precedent Defeats Policy See the full video at https://rumble.com/v3x2s1f-no-sprinklers-no-coverage.html  and at https://youtu.be/IfcxiDYTx_4 Blog Post 4673 Plaintiff appealed the trial court’s order granting summary disposition in favor of defendant. In 23771 Blackstone, LLC v. Conifer Insurance Company, No. … Continue reading →

My Family and I are Thankful to Share This Thanksgiving with You See the full video at https://rumble.com/v3x8se6-i-am-thankful.html  and at https://youtu.be/WZV5IWPH4lM My family and I have much to be thankful for this year, not the least of which are the … Continue reading →

Speculation About Extraneous Facts Does Not Trigger Duty to Defend Blog Post 4672 See the full video at https://rumble.com/v3x1wsl-personal-injury-coverage-exclusion-eliminates-coverage.html and  at https://youtu.be/XfyWqrSsU3U AutoDistributors, Inc. and Steven Schneider (collectively “AutoDistributors”) appealed the district court’s order granting judgment on the pleadings in … Continue reading →

After Paying the Insured More than $637,000 he Sues for More See the full video at https://rumble.com/v3wvpyx-no-good-deed-goes-unpunished.html and at https://youtu.be/l_s97-gbFEQ Vahagun Safarian appealed from the judgment entered after the trial court granted the summary judgment motion filed by Fire Insurance … Continue reading →

Honest People Pay to Fund the Criminal Conduct of Insurance Fraudsters INSURANCE FRAUD IS EPIDEMIC Insurance fraud continually takes more money each year than it did the last from the insurance buying public. There is no certain number. No one … Continue reading →

RTFP – Court Reads the Full Policy See the full video at https://rumble.com/v3w4rhf-you-only-get-what-you-pay-for.html   and at https://youtu.be/aR9DGHaY0qc Mark Scafella appealed the order granting Erie Insurance Company (“Erie”) and Stanley Geho’s summary judgment in the underlying declaratory judgment action. In Mark Scafella … Continue reading →

MURDAUGH’S FRAUD DESTROYS ANOTHER LAWYER See the full video at https://rumble.com/v3vy0dl-lawyer-seeks-voluntary-disbarment-for-fraud.html and at https://youtu.be/-RACGiO6Mhk Cory Howerton Fleming (State Bar No. 292955) asked for voluntary discipline by the Supreme Court  Georgia before the issuance of a formal complaint. In the petition, … Continue reading →

ZIFL – Volume 27 Issue 22 See the full video at https://rumble.com/v3vpx5k-zalmas-insurance-fraud-letter-november-15-2023.html and at  https://youtu.be/zKtQ7UIFqIc The Resource for the Insurance Claims and Insurance Fraud Professionals This, the 22nd issue of the 27th Year of ZIFL includes articles and reports relating … Continue reading →

No Written Agreement Ends Claim as an Additional Insured See the full video at https://rumble.com/v3vgam0-no-written-agreement-ends-claim-as-an-additional-insured.html and at https://youtu.be/PcaNHvuoVao The Chicago White Sox, Ltd., et al (the White Sox plaintiffs), and State Automobile Mutual Insurance Company (State Auto), the insurer for … Continue reading →

What is a Condition? Subscribe to my Substack, Excellence in Claims Handling for $5 a month or $50 a year where you can read this and others at https://barryzalma.substack.com/publish/%%checkout_url%% In AIG Centennial v. Fraley-Landers, 450 F.3d 761 (8th Cir. 2006) … Continue reading →

Insurance Fraudsters Convicted of Other Crimes See the full video at https://rumble.com/v3uw6x8-insurance-fraudster-was-a-very-bad-man.html and at https://youtu.be/bcmn5yHADoM INSURANCE CRIME DOES NOT PAY In my experience those who commit property or casualty insurance fraud are seldom arrested, even more rarely are they tried … Continue reading →

Most Insurers Have Rules Prohibiting their Employees to Get Gifts When I was a young lawyer I tried to give gifts to the claims personnel who referred cases to me and my law firm. I tried to provide them with … Continue reading →

Ambiguous Policy Wording Results in Adoption of Continuous Trigger of Coverage See the full video at https://rumble.com/v3uozt6-contiguous-trigger-is-law-in-west-virginia.html  and at https://youtu.be/SeQskdjSAiU The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit certified a question to the Supreme Court of Appeals of … Continue reading →

Plea of Guilty of Murder for Insurance Cannot Be Withdrawn See the full video at https://rumble.com/v3uh67u-insurance-fraud-is-a-violent-crime.html   and at https://youtu.be/OpOMaZPdGS4 In State Of Ohio v. Darin Brusiter, No. 112410, 2023-Ohio-3794, Court of Appeals of Ohio, Eighth District, Cuyahoga (October 19, 2023) Darin … Continue reading →

Florida Refuses to Offset Tort Damages with Bad Faith Damages from an Underinsured Motorist Insurer See the full video at https://rumble.com/v3u9uvc-bad-faith-judgements-and-settlements-are-punishment-not-damages.html  and at https://youtu.be/LZ805mVVywg The Florida Supreme Court was asked to resolve a certified question from a lower court about … Continue reading →

An Insurance Oxymoron Forwarded this post? Subscribe here for more https://lnkd.in/gz8YkEcC How the Equitable Remedy of Rescission Was Changed to a Tort The plaintiff’s bar has coined the phrase “post loss underwriting” to change the victim of a misrepresentation into … Continue reading →

Charge of Insurance Fraud, if True, Not Defamatory See the full video at https://rumble.com/v3u2lgt-politics-and-insurance-fraud.html and at https://youtu.be/-ki6-GEwIN4 In RMS Insurance Services, Inc., d/b/a Flanders Insurance Agency, and Owen G. Costanza, an Individual v. Donald G. Sattler, an Individual, Marion L. … Continue reading →

Excess Insurer Owes Nothing Until Primary Insurer’s Limits Are Exhausted See the full video at https://rumble.com/v3t9c13-insured-must-get-excess-insurers-permission-before-settling-claim.html  and at https://youtu.be/fFlKdJzyaco Vizio, Inc. appealed the district court’s order granting Arch Insurance’s motion to dismiss. Arch issued an insurance policy to Vizio and … Continue reading →

Not Wise to Burden Appellate Court with Multiple Frivolous Motions See full video at  https://rumble.com/v3t2hqz-admitting-to-facts-that-establish-exclusion-is-fatal.html  and at https://youtu.be/0XBaU99KR5E After appellant Donya Entertainment, Inc. noticed a “very significant . . . water intrusion” in a restaurant it had owned and operated … Continue reading →

Statute of Limitations Bars Bad Faith Action See the full video at https://rumble.com/v3sv2iu-facts-are-important.html and at https://youtu.be/sZjItDJRh2s Statute of Limitations Bars Bad Faith Action PPO Health Insurance Policy Refusal to Pay Starts Running of Statute of Limitation In Christina Terry, individually … Continue reading →

ZIFL Volume 27, Issue 21 See the full video at https://rumble.com/v3subs1-zalmas-insurance-fraud-letter-november-1-2023.html  and at https://youtu.be/2btcABcA2wU The Resource for the Insurance Claims and Insurance Fraud Professionals What a Great Country! This article a fictionalized True Crime Story of Insurance Fraud from an … Continue reading →

Routine Business Not Protected Work Product See the full video at https://rumble.com/v3snexl-no-privilege-when-documents-placed-in-a-dispositive-motion.html  and at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVD4xy1_8iI In Aerojet Rocketdyne, Inc. v. Global Aerospace, Inc., et al., No. 2:17-cv-01515-KJM-AC, United States District Court, E.D. California (October 25, 2023) an insurance coverage dispute … Continue reading →

Withholding Coverage for Criminal Acts Disincentivizes Criminal Conduct See the full video at https://rumble.com/v3s19ur-crime-does-not-allow-insurer-to-pay.html and at https://youtu.be/DtUpTtgPzOM Safeway Insurance Company sought supervisory writs from the judgment of the lower court which denied its motion for summary judgment. In Damien Harris … Continue reading →

Failure to Plead a Viable Complaint after Four Tries Stops Everything See the full video at https://rumble.com/v3rtqpq-no-court-has-unlimited-patience.html  and at https://youtu.be/dmMROVl86Qg Scott Manley moved the USDC to dismiss the two claims plaintiff Mark Esquibel asserted against him in the Third Amended … Continue reading →

Most Public Adjusters are Honorable Professionals Fictionalized True Story of Insurance Fraud The story that follows is a fictionalized true crime story of Insurance Fraud from an Expert who explains why Insurance Fraud is a “Heads I Win, Tails You … Continue reading →

Speaking to the California Conference of Arson Investigators See the full video at https://rumble.com/v3rkx5s-how-insurers-and-arson-investigators-have-taken-the-profit-from-arson-for-p.html  and at https://youtu.be/dGn006qJuBA Learn about CCAI at https://arson.org/  On October 19, 2023 I had the honor to speak to the California Conference of Arson Investigators Annual … Continue reading →

Courts May Never Assume They Must Deal in Facts Break the Word “Assume” Into its Component Parts See the full video at https://rumble.com/v3r6jcz-only-fools-fail-to-read-policy-and-assume-coverage-exists.html  and at https://youtu.be/avnN6vtSWXA Grange Insurance Company (“Grange”) issued two insurance policies for insureds called Roosters – a … Continue reading →

Conviction by Plea Manifestly Just See the full video at https://rumble.com/v3r0w0j-conviction-by-plea-manifestly-just.html and at https://youtu.be/MDV9jIJ_OMQ Defendant Carlo Amato appealed from a March 24, 2022 order denying his motion to withdraw his guilty plea. In State Of New Jersey v. Carlo Amato, … Continue reading →

What to Do When Faced With Auto Insurance Fraud This blog post is a fictionalized True Crime Story of Insurance Fraud from an Expert who explains why Insurance Fraud is a “Heads I Win, Tails You Lose” situation for Insurers. … Continue reading →