Insurance Claim – Premiums

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WI Court of Appeals – District II

Case Name: Acuity v. Property Image, LLC.

Case No.: 2017AP1699-FT

Officials: HAGEDORN, J.

Focus: Insurance Claim – Premiums

This is a small claims action over insurance premiums. The insurer, Acuity, initiated this lawsuit against Property Image, LLC to recover premiums owed under a worker’s compensation insurance policy and a “Bis-Pak” policy—basically, a type of general liability policy. The parties disputed whether one of Property Image’s employees was properly classified as a carpenter, which carried additional premiums. The circuit court ultimately dismissed Acuity’s lawsuit on the grounds that Acuity was required to—but did not—give notice of the classification change prior to billing Property Image for the increased amount.

On appeal, Acuity argues that the terms of its policies with Property Image did not require it to give notice that the employee was being reclassified. Because Acuity did not raise this argument in the circuit court, we decline to address it for the first time on appeal and deem it forfeited. Acuity advances a fallback position that it was entitled to at least some of the damages it requested because Property Image had paid no premiums on the employee in question. The circuit court found Acuity’s evidence on this latter point to be lacking and, for this reason, declined to order Property Image to pay additional premiums. Because the circuit court’s findings on this point were not clearly erroneous, we affirm the order of the circuit court.

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Attorney Derek A. Hawkins is the managing partner at Hawkins Law Offices LLC, where he heads up the firm’s startup law practice. He specializes in business formation, corporate governance, intellectual property protection, private equity and venture capital funding and mergers & acquisitions. Check out the website at www.hawkins-lawoffices.com or contact them at 262-737-8825.