Kirkwood

Insurance Code 1 section 2071 calls for an appraisal process to resolve disputes between the parties to a standard form fire insurance policy over the actual cash value of property loss claims. However, the appraisal panel’s power is restricted to the factual task of valuing the items of property submitted for appraisal. Matters of statutory construction, contract interpretation and policy coverage are not encompassed within the ambit of a section 2071 appraisal.

In this action for declaratory and other relief, respondent Douglas Kirkwood has asserted that appellant California State Automobile Association Inter-Insurance Bureau (CSAA) is improperly interpreting and applying the 2004 amendments to section 2051, which set out the precise method of determining actual cash value of lost or injured property under an open policy of fire insurance. The trial court denied, without prejudice, CSAA’s motion to compel appraisal, reasoning that Kirkwood had properly invoked its declaratory relief powers to resolve a matter that was outside the scope of a statutory and contractual appraisal. CSAA appeals the order denying its motion to compel appraisal. We conclude the trial court…