192 W. Va. 522 - Silk v. Flat Top Construction, Inc.’s Empirical Analysis
1994
Citation profile
2 federal appellate · 20 state decisions
How this case has been cited
Cited by 30 later decisions — most recently June 2014 · most notably Gilbert Texas Construction, L.P. v. Underwriters at Lloyd's London (2010), 199 W. Va. 548 - Bruceton Bank v. United States Fidelity & Guaranty Insurance (1997)
2 federal appellate · 20 state decisions
Later decisions citing this case, by decade. The current decade is in progress, and our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so the latest bars are undercounted — not a real decline.
Relationships
Relies on 65 Cal. 2d 263 - Gray v. Zurich Insurance Co. · 148 W. Va. 160 - Aetna Casualty & Surety Co. v. Federal Insurance Co. of New York · 192 W. Va. 189 - Painter v. Peavy · 177 W. Va. 734 - National Mutual Insurance v. McMahon & Sons, Inc. · 176 W. Va. 190 - Aetna Casualty & Surety Co. v. Pitrolo
Most-quoted passages
The sentences later courts lift from this opinion, ranked by how many decisions quote each — the parts of the opinion doing the work. These counts are smaller than the citation total above because most of the 30 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.
““As a general rule, an insurer’s duty to defend is tested by whether the allegations in the plaintiffs complaint are reasonably susceptible of an interpretation that the claim may be covered by the terms of the insurance policy. See generally 7C J. Ap-pleman, [.Insurance Law and Practice] § 4683 [ (Berdal ed.1979) ]; 14 G. Couch, [Cyclopedia of Insurance Law ] § 51.42 [ (2nd ed.1982) ]; 44 Am.Jur.2d Insurance § 1539 (1969); Annot., 50 A.L.R.2d 458 (1956). ‘There is no requirement that the facts alleged in the complaint specifically and unequivocally make out a claim within the coverage.’... “Furthermore, it is generally recognized that the duty to defend an insured may be broader than the obligation to pay under a particular policy. This ordinarily arises by virtue-of language in the ordinary liability policy that obligates the insurer to defend even though the suit is groundless, false, or fraudulent.” Aetna Cas. & Sur. Co. v. Pitrolo, 176 W.Va. 190, 194 , 342 S.E.2d 156, 160 (1986).”
2 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority“`[w]here the policy language involved is exclusionary, it will be strictly construed against the insurer in order that the purpose of providing indemnity not be defeated.' Syl. pt. 5, National Mutual Ins. Co. v. McMahon & Sons, Inc., 177 W.Va. 734 , 356 S.E.2d 488 (1987).”
2 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority“the objectively reasonable expectations of applicants and intended beneficiaries regarding the terms of insurance contracts will be honored even though painstaking study of the policy provisions would have negated those expectations.”
2 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
How this case has been treated — in progress
Whether each later court followed, distinguished, criticized, or overruled this decision. The treatment classification (task #35) runs highest-cited cases first and lights up here as it reaches this one.