CORNHUSKERS CASUALTY v. SAMPLES
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals today released an opinion in CORNHUSKERS CASUALTY v. SAMPLES, No. 06-35106, a diversity appeal. The panel consisted of Ronald M. Gould and Richard A. Paez, Circuit Judges, and Lyle E. Strom, District Judge.
GOULD, Circuit Judge:
Brooks Samples (”Samples”) appeals the district court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of Cornhusker Casualty Insurance Company (”Cornhusker”) and denial of Samples’ cross-motion for summary judgment in Cornhusker’s declaratory judgment action. The district court held that Cornhusker, before the accident that resulted in the death of Samples’ wife, effectively cancelled its policy insuring the company responsible for her fatal injuries. The crux of the district court’s holding is its determination that certified mail satisfies the notice requirement for cancellation of an insurance policy under the Revised Code of Washington (”RCW”) § 48.18.290. Samples challenges this conclusion and also argues that Cornhusker, because it informed the insured that it would collect the premium in a quarterly payment plan, is estopped from denying coverage under its insurance policy when the insured paid its last installment less than three months after the previous payment. Cornhusker, in addition to endorsing the district court’s statutory interpretation, contends that Samples waived his right to argue that certified mail, unlike regular mail, must actually be delivered in order to satisfy the notice requirement of RCW § 48.18.290 because he did not raise the issue before the district court. We have juris. . .