Cited by

To this end, to argue that appraisal awards merely determine the amount of loss but do not dictate what an insurer must pay.

It is well established that “appraisers have authority to decide the amount of loss but may not construe the policy or decide whether the insurer should pay.” (quotati on omitted); see also 6 Cedar Bluff Townhome Condo.

Both parties cite the supreme court’s and urge the court to apply it to the facts of this case.

the credibility of each witness, it does not alter our legal conclusion that a genuine issue of material fact exists in Ariel’s suit 21 But perhaps more importantly, because an appraisal is compelled, the appraisal will determine “the amount of loss,” which “necessarily includes the determination” of, among other things, “the amount it would cost to repair that loss.” 6 (Minn. 2012).

Nat’l rev. denied (Minn. Apr.

“[A]ppraisal is a process that is generally intended to take place before suit is filed [and] is generally understood to be a condition precedent to suit.”

Generally, an appraisal panel has the “authority to decide the ‘amount of loss’ but may not construe the policy or decide whether the insurer should pay.”

–07 (Minn. 2012) (but explaining that an appraisal panel may interpret policy language when ascertaining the amount o f loss, subject to judicial re view, noting that an appraisal panel’s “liability determinations are not ‘final and conclusive’ ” (quoting Itasca Paper Co. v. Niagara Fire Ins.

We interpret contract terms “consistent with their plain, ordinary, and popular sense, so as to give effect to the intention of the parties as it appears from the entire contract.” (quotation omitted).

“The scope of appraisal is limited to damage questions while liability questions are reserved for the courts.”

Elm Creek next contends that the appraisal panel exceeded its authority by re - evaluating matters that were not in dispute, and because it made a coverage determination relating to “harvesting.” “The scope of apprais al is limited to damage questions while liability questions are reserved for the courts.”

is a matter reserved for the appraisal process.

This contrasts with our view that the authority of an appraisal panel is more limited in that “appraisers have authority to decide the amount of loss but may not construe the policy or decide whether the insurer should pay.” (internal quotation marks omitted) (citing 15 Lee R. Russ & Thomas F. Segalla, Couch on Insurance § 213:44 (3d ed. 1999) (“An appraiser can make no legal determinations.”)).

Co., (qu otation omitted); (stating that generally a court “construe[s] contract terms consistent with their plain, ordinary, and popular sense, so as to give effect to the intention of the parties as it appears from the entire contract” (quotation omitted)).

(noting that terms of a cont ract are reviewed within the context of the entire contract).

(quotations and citations omitted).

policy with Bjorklund “by declining to pay for the damage to the [east and west buildings] caused by the Storms and by declining to enter in to the appraisal process.” Bjorklund requested that the district court compel Auto-Owners to participate in the 1 Auto-Owners’s position on the coverage issue has subsequently changed after the supreme court’s

[o]f comparable material and quality,’ ” -07 (Minn. 2012), “the appraisal panel had authority to consider the meanings of those phrases when determining the amount of loss.” Cedar Bluff, 2013 WL 6223454, at *3.

“The interpretation of insurance contracts is a question of law.”

We emphasize that nothing in our opinion diminishes the importance of appraisal as a means of securing a " 'plain, speedy, inexpensive and just determination of the extent of the loss.’ " (quoting Kavli v. Eagle Star Ins.

For insurance purposes, we have defined “loss” as “ ‘the amount of an insured’s final detriment by death or damage [for which] the insurer becomes liable.’ ” (emphasis omitted) (quoting Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary 687 (10th ed.2001)).