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Insurance
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February 16, 2024
Barge Co., Insurer End Pollution Cleanup Coverage Fight
A Washington barge company and its insurer reached an agreement in a dispute over coverage of legal expenses stemming from claims that the company was liable for environmental pollution at an EPA cleanup site, according to a notice filed in Washington federal court.
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February 16, 2024
Insurance Group Of The Year: Wiley
Wiley Rein LLP helped major insurers score wins while navigating complex and novel coverage issues, including the applicability of "bump-up" exclusions and the scope of cyber liability policies, cementing the firm as one of Law360's 2023 Insurance Groups of the Year.
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February 16, 2024
UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London
This past week in London has seen a legal battle erupt between JPMorgan and the founder of a Greek payments company following a dispute over the valuation of their jointly owned fintech business, the children of late Russian oligarch Vladimir Scherbakov face a claim by Fieldfisher LLP, the Director of Education and Training at the Solicitors Regulation Authority tackle a claim by two solicitors, and train operator First MTR South Western Trains file a claim against a security company. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.
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February 15, 2024
Rental Car Cos. Can Be Held Liable As Insurers In Colo.
Rental car companies that sell insurance policies can be on the hook for bad faith claims, a Colorado Court of Appeals panel ruled Thursday in a published opinion, concluding that a trial court wrongfully dismissed a bad faith, breach of contract suit against Hertz based on the erroneous finding that it was not an insurer.
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February 15, 2024
Damaged Champagne Cargo Row Can Proceed, Judge Says
A New Jersey federal judge preserved the majority of a $930,000 coverage dispute over a damaged champagne shipment Thursday, denying a logistics company's bid for dismissal while giving an insurer the opportunity to put forth an alternate pleading.
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February 15, 2024
Club, Insurer Resolve Fiduciary Breach Coverage Row
A country club owner, various club board members and Selective Insurance Co. agreed to dismiss their dispute Thursday in Massachusetts federal court over coverage for breach of contract and fiduciary duty claims that club investors lodged in arbitration, resolving the coverage case after reaching a settlement in January.
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February 15, 2024
Software Company Seeks $10M Policy Limit For Bad Deal
A software company told a California federal court that its insurer breached its contract by failing to cover $10 million in damages suffered because of misrepresentations made by a property and casualty insurance software company it bought.
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February 15, 2024
No Coverage For Pandemic Losses, NY Top Court Rules
A Texas-based restaurant operator isn't entitled to insurance coverage for its pandemic losses, New York's top court ruled Thursday, saying the operator didn't allege the kind of physical loss or damage required for coverage.
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February 15, 2024
Court Mulls If Claims Buyer Qualifies For Special Ch. 11 Trust
A Delaware bankruptcy judge on Thursday considered whether a company that pursues claims on behalf of medical insurers and healthcare organizations can be paid from a specialized opioid trust created by the 2022 Chapter 11 plan of Irish pharmaceutical company Mallinckrodt PLC.
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February 15, 2024
Ex-Atty Who Lied To Grand Jury About Frauds Gets 6.5 Years
A Manhattan federal judge sentenced a disbarred lawyer to six and a half years in prison Thursday for his 14-year, $17 million real estate Ponzi scheme, for laundering insurance scam proceeds and for his "unheard of" step of lying to a grand jury.
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February 15, 2024
Wash. High Court Affirms Liberty Mutual's Bill Review System
The Washington State Supreme Court on Thursday said Liberty Mutual can use an industry database to cap payments to medical providers, rejecting a neurologist's argument that using computer-generated data to calculate medical bills violated consumer protection law because it didn't guarantee reasonable payment.
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February 15, 2024
1st Circ. Partially Revives Tufts U. Worker's Benefits Fight
The First Circuit has said a Massachusetts federal judge was right to release Tufts University from a suit by an employee alleging her insurance premiums were illegally increased but reinstated her claims against underwriter Prudential due to ambiguous contract language.
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February 15, 2024
Vaughan Baio Adds 3 Partners And 2 Offices In NY, NJ
Philadelphia-based midsized firm Vaughan Baio & Partners expanded its footprint and resources this month with the addition of three partners and the opening of two offices in New York and New Jersey.
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February 15, 2024
Zurich Owes $554K Over Faulty Construction Work, Erie Says
Erie Insurance Co. told a D.C. federal court Thursday that a Zurich unit wrongly denied coverage to Erie-insured subcontractors for over $554,000 in damage stemming from faulty work at a government agency renovation project, arguing Zurich has cited the wrong coverage form to deny liability.
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February 15, 2024
9th Circ. Backs Homeowners' Cert. In Allstate Overcharge Suit
Allstate will have to face a class action accusing it of artificially inflating home insurance premiums for thousands of California properties by double-counting built-in garage space, a Ninth Circuit panel ruled, affirming a lower court's decision.
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February 15, 2024
Insurer Says Repair Co. Owes $650K For Ferry Engine Failure
A vessel repair company must pay over $657,000 for costs stemming from the failure of a ferry engine during routine maintenance, the insurer for a Boston ferry operator told a Massachusetts federal court Thursday, saying the company's negligence caused the mishap.
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February 15, 2024
Insurance Group Of The Year: Simpson Thacher
Insurance attorneys at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP helped Travelers score a win against CVS in a coverage fight over claims stemming from the opioid epidemic, securing the firm a spot on Law360's 2023 Insurance Groups of the Year.
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February 14, 2024
Prudential Inks $35M Deal Over Investor's Stock-Drop Suit
A Prudential Financial Inc. investor asked a New Jersey federal judge on Wednesday to sign off on a $35 million deal to settle allegations the insurer hid mortality trends and understated its life insurance reserves, causing its stock to trade at inflated prices.
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February 14, 2024
Fla. Condo Says Chubb Unit Stalled On $7M Storm Claim
A Florida Keys condominium has sued a Chubb unit over coverage related to $7.3 million worth of damage sustained during a 2017 hurricane, saying the company breached "industry standards" by dragging its feet on a claim and issued an amount less than what was needed for repairs.
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February 14, 2024
Bed Bath & Beyond Execs Given Access To $10M In Insurance
An insurer for bankrupt housewares retailer Bed Bath & Beyond will cover up to $10 million in legal costs incurred by company executives who were subpoenaed or named as defendants in litigation connected to the store, a New Jersey bankruptcy court said.
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February 14, 2024
Miami Law Firm Not Covered In Overbilling Row, Judge Says
An insurer does not have to defend a Miami law firm in a lawsuit accusing it of overbilling a client, a Florida federal judge has ruled, finding that the underlying allegations do not constitute professional services as defined by the firm's policy.
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February 14, 2024
Insurer Wants Out Of Covering SC Club Shooting
A Nationwide unit has told a South Carolina federal court it doesn't have to defend a nightclub operator against a former patron's negligence suit, arguing that an assault and battery exclusion in its liquor liability policy bars coverage for the claimant's shooting-related injuries.
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February 14, 2024
Hospitality Cos. Seek To Sink Trafficking Survivor's Suit
Choice Hotels International Inc., Wyndham Hotels & Resorts Inc. and other hotel companies are urging an Ohio federal judge to end a suit from a sex trafficking survivor alleging they allowed crimes against her to continue, with Choice Hotels eyeing dismissal and the other defendants seeking early wins.
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February 14, 2024
Insurance Group Of The Year: Covington
Covington & Burling LLP cemented an appellate court victory for Merck in a $1.2 billion dispute over the applicability of a war exclusion in the health giant's property policies this past year, topping a remarkable list of wins that earned the firm a spot as one of Law360's 2023 Insurance Groups of the Year.
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February 13, 2024
Insurer Can't Toss Claims As Sanctions In Hotel Fire Suit
A Colorado federal judge has rejected an insurer's request to toss a construction contractor's counterclaims as sanctions for discovery failures in a dispute over a $3 million hotel fire, with the judge finding no problems with a magistrate judge's decision to instead award attorney fees and costs.
Expert Analysis
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Rebuttal
2nd Circ. Reinsurance Ruling Correctly Applied English Law
Contrary to a recent Law360 guest article's argument, the Second Circuit correctly applied English law when it decided in Insurance Company of the State of Pennsylvania v. Equitas that concurrent reinsurance certificates required the reinsurer to cover loss in accordance with the law of the policy's governing jurisdiction, say Peter Chaffetz and Andrew Poplinger at Chaffetz Lindsey.
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Rethinking In-Office Attendance For Associate Retention
The hybrid office attendance model doesn't work for all employees, but it does for many — and balancing these two groups is important for associate retention and maintaining a BigLaw firm culture that supports all attorneys, says Summer Eberhard at Major Lindsey.
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Hospitality Biz Must Prep For Seaweed Damage Coverage
With the Great Atlantic Sargassum Seaweed Belt, a 10-million-ton mass of brown seaweed, potentially about to approach the coasts of the U.S. Southeast, Puerto Rico and the Caribbean, affected policyholders should consider whether their losses are covered by their property insurance policies, say attorneys at Pillsbury.
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Greenwashing Suits May Implicate D&O Policies
As consumers, regulators, and state and local governments seek to use litigation to hold companies responsible for alleged greenwashing, businesses facing such claims have a number of approaches available for seeking insurance coverage under directors and officers policies, say attorneys at Haynes Boone.
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Opinion
ALI, Bar Groups Need More Defense Engagement For Balance
The American Law Institute and state bar committees have a special role in the development of the law — but if they do not do a better job of including attorneys from the defense bar, they will come to be viewed as special interest advocacy groups, says Mark Behrens at Shook Hardy.
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FCA Liability Lessons From HHS Psychotherapy Audit
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' recent finding of improper Medicare payments for psychotherapy services provided in 2020-2021 might inspire whistleblowers to pursue allegations under the federal False Claims Act, but there are reasons to be skeptical of converting these audit results into expansive FCA liability, say attorneys at Sidley.
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Murdaugh Trials Offer Law Firms Fraud Prevention Reminders
As the fraud case against Alex Murdaugh continues to play out, the evidence and narrative presented at his murder trial earlier this year may provide lessons for law firms on implementing robust internal controls that can detect and prevent similar kinds of fraud, say Travis Casner and Helga Zauner at Weaver and Tidwell.
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What's Next For 5th Circ.'s ACA Preventive Care Suit
The Fifth Circuit's high-profile Braidwood v. Becerra case has significant ramifications for Affordable Care Act coverage requirements, and there is precedent to suggest that it could be ultimately decided by the U.S. Supreme Court, says Nicholas DiCarlo at Zuckerman Spaeder.
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2nd Circ. Reinsurance Ruling Misconstrues English Law
The Second Circuit's finding in Insurance Company of the State of Pennsylvania v. Equitas Insurance, that London-based reinsurer Equitas owed coverage for losses outside the policy period, stems from that court's misinterpretation of English law on reinsurance policy construction, says Christopher Foster at Holman Fenwick.
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Firm Tips For Helping New Lawyers Succeed Post-Pandemic
Ten steps can help firms significantly enhance the experience of attorneys who started their careers in the coronavirus pandemic era, including facilitating opportunities for cross-firm connection, which can ultimately help build momentum for business development, says Lana Manganiello at Equinox Strategy Partners.
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Opinion
6th Circ. Judge Correctly ID'd ERISA Civil Procedure Conflict
While the Sixth Circuit in Tranbarger v. Lincoln Life & Annuity recently affirmed a ruling that denied the plaintiff's disability benefits, one judge's concurrence should be commended for arguing that adjudication of such Employee Retirement Income Security Act cases fundamentally contradicts the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, says Mark DeBofsky at DeBofsky Law.
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Prepping Your Business Ahead Of Affirmative Action Ruling
The U.S. Supreme Court's upcoming ruling on whether race should play a role in college admissions could potentially end affirmative action, and companies will need a considered approach to these circumstances that protects their brand power and future profits, and be prepared to answer tough questions, say Nadine Blackburn at United Minds and Eric Blankenbaker at Weber Shandwick.
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4 Emerging Risks For US Insurance Markets
Both insureds and insurers in the U.S. must be aware of significant inbound exposures — including the issues arising from opioids, climate change and artificial intelligence — that could lead to continued volatility in insurance markets, say Aidan McCormack and Wes Reichart at DLA Piper.
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Tackling Judge-Shopping Concerns While Honoring Localism
As the debate continues over judge-shopping and case assignments in federal court, policymakers should look to a hybrid model that preserves the benefits of localism for those cases that warrant it, while preventing the appearance of judge-shopping for cases of a more national or widespread character, says Joshua Sohn at the U.S. Department of Justice.
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Perspectives
How Attorneys Can Help Combat Anti-Asian Hate
Amid an exponential increase in violence against Asian American and Pacific Islander communities, unique obstacles stand in the way of accountability and justice — but lawyers can effect powerful change by raising awareness, offering legal representation, advocating for victims’ rights and more, say attorneys at Gibson Dunn.