General Liability

  • October 10, 2024

    Back-To-Back Storms Expose Outdated NFIP Holes, Pro Says

    The one-two punch of hurricanes Helene and Milton should give policymakers another reason to bolster the country's leading flood insurer and rethink water risks, according to Chad Berginnis, executive director of the Association of State Floodplain Managers and a leading figure among flood loss reduction professionals. Here, Law360 talks to Berginnis about how the back-to-back storms lay bare the country's flood risks.

  • October 09, 2024

    9th Circ. Grills Geico, Assignees Over Failed Settlement

    A Ninth Circuit panel appeared conflicted over both Geico and a policyholder's assignees' arguments regarding whether the carrier acted in bad faith toward its insured when it prioritized a release of the insured's father-in-law during failed settlement negotiations with the family of a pedestrian fatally struck by the insured driver.

  • October 09, 2024

    Insurer Wins Ex-PwC Exec's Long-Term Disability Suit

    An Illinois federal judge handed Hartford Life and Accident Insurance Co. a win in a federal benefits lawsuit from a former PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP executive who alleged she was wrongly denied long-term disability benefits after fibromyalgia left her unable to continue working.

  • October 08, 2024

    Underwriter Says Freight Co. Not Covered For Missing Cargo

    An underwriter urged a Washington federal court to relieve it of any coverage obligations it may owe under a commercial auto policy to a freight company that is potentially on the hook for over $580,000 after a cargo broker claimed that a shipment of computer parts wasn't delivered.

  • October 08, 2024

    Hawaii Justices Hand AIG Win In Novel Climate Coverage Suit

    AIG isn't obligated to cover a lawsuit accusing a Honolulu-based Sunoco subsidiary of contributing to climate change, the Hawaii Supreme Court ruled, saying a pollution exclusion in the oil giant's policy encompasses greenhouse gas emissions.

  • October 08, 2024

    Insurer Says Kiwanis Abuse Claims Won't Trigger $35M Policy

    An insurer told a Washington federal judge that because its coverage only kicked in at the $35 million level, it should be dismissed from litigation seeking payment of a multimillion-dollar judgment from insurers to resolve child sex abuse survivors' claims against a foster boys home run by Kiwanis International.

  • October 07, 2024

    Factory Mutual Must Fully Cover Plant Explosions, Suit Says

    Petrochemicals maker Indorama Ventures accused Factory Mutual Insurance Co. in Texas federal court Monday of wrongly refusing to fully cover roughly $100 million in losses stemming from a series of major explosions in 2019 near an Indorama plant in Texas.

  • October 07, 2024

    No Defense Cost Reimbursement Owed Over Dam Flood Row

    An insurer for an excavation subcontractor has no duty to equitably reimburse another insurer for the $832,000 it said it incurred defending various parties against claims that they failed to control floodwaters while working on a dam project, a Texas federal court ruled Monday. 

  • October 07, 2024

    Mich. Supreme Court Snapshot: Insulin Prices, Disney Audit

    The Michigan Supreme Court's first oral argument session of the 2024-25 term promises to be a busy one, involving an investigation into Eli Lilly's insulin prices with big implications for the scope of Michigan's consumer protection law and Disney's appeal of an order to turn over decades-old uncashed checks to the state treasurer.

  • October 07, 2024

    Akerman Adds In-House Atty From WR Berkley

    An assistant vice president and counsel to W.R. Berkley Corp., a commercial lines property and casualty insurance holding company, left his in-house role to become a partner with Akerman LLP in New York, the firm announced Monday.

  • October 04, 2024

    Death Suit Coverage Dispute Must Be Heard In State Court

    An Oklahoma federal court declined jurisdiction over an insurer's coverage dispute against a construction company stemming from an underlying wrongful death lawsuit, finding that keeping the action in federal court wouldn't settle the controversy and would "impede upon principles of federal-state comity."

  • October 04, 2024

    Insurer May Pay Only 1 Fla. Mass Shooting Victim

    An insurer isn't required to pay anything to two families whose loved ones died in a mass shooting at a Miami mall because it already exhausted all its proceeds in paying one other family $50,000, a Florida federal judge ruled.

  • October 04, 2024

    Denver Charity Drops Fraudulent Grant Coverage Fight

    A Denver-based nonprofit has agreed to drop its suit over insurance coverage for $349,000 in grants it gave to a different charity whose founder was accused by Colorado authorities of lying about its nonprofit status, according to court filings Friday.

  • October 04, 2024

    NY Appeals Court Won't Trim Sex Abuse Coverage Dispute

    A New York state appeals court upheld a lower court's ruling declining to dismiss The Rockefeller University's claims that its insurers acted in bad faith and conducted deceptive trade practices while handling the university's coverage request for underlying allegations of sexual abuse.

  • October 04, 2024

    Taxation With Representation: Gibson Dunn, Weil, Simpson

    In this week's Taxation with Representation, DirectTV buys EchoStar's video business for $10 billion, Marsh McLennan inks a $7.75 billion deal for McGriff Insurance, and PepsiCo closes a $1.2 billion deal to purchase Siete Foods.

  • October 03, 2024

    10th Circ. Denies Gunshot Injury Coverage To Hookah Lounge

    The Tenth Circuit backed an insurer's win Thursday against a hookah lounge seeking coverage of underlying litigation over paralyzing gunshot wounds a man suffered in 2019 during a shootout between lounge security guards and an armed patron.

  • October 03, 2024

    Helene's Devastation Worsened By Inadequate Insurance

    Hurricane Helene's devastating path across the southeastern U.S. has brought concerns about inadequate flood insurance and resilience measures to the forefront of a national conversation on the risks of extreme precipitation.

  • October 03, 2024

    12 Lawyers Who Are The Future Of The Supreme Court Bar

    One attorney hasn't lost a single U.S. Supreme Court case she's argued, or even a single justice's vote. One attorney is perhaps "the preeminent SCOTUS advocate." And one may soon become U.S. solicitor general, despite acknowledging there are "judges out there who don't like me." All three are among a dozen lawyers in the vanguard of the Supreme Court bar's next generation, poised to follow in the footsteps of the bar's current icons.

  • October 03, 2024

    9th. Circ. To Weigh If Geico Favored Noninsured In Auto Suit

    The Ninth Circuit will hear oral arguments Wednesday over whether Geico acted in bad faith when it prioritized a release of its policyholder's father-in-law during failed settlement negotiations with the family of a pedestrian fatally struck by the insured driver, focusing on whether a "permissive-use provision" extended coverage. Here, Law360 breaks down the case in advance.

  • October 03, 2024

    Insurance Litigation Week In Review

    Employees in Colorado can seek coverage beyond workers' compensation after crashing at work, a suit over the demise of a tunnel-boring machine is finally over, the Alaska Supreme Court iced out businesses seeking COVID-19 loss coverage and Atari was allowed to pursue State Farm for using its game in a commercial. Here, Law360 takes a look at the past week's top insurance news.

  • October 03, 2024

    D&O Expert Talks Market Trends And Predictions

    Directors and officers policyholders should keep a close eye on an evolving regulatory environment and risks related to artificial intelligence, but they can expect the market to remain stable over the next year due to increased capacity, according to CAC Specialty Senior Vice President Robert Regueiro. Here, he sits down with Law360 to talk about those issues.

  • October 03, 2024

    TikTok Ruling Expected To Spur Major Coverage Review

    The Third Circuit knocked a hole in social media companies' liability protections by reviving a lawsuit challenging TikTok's algorithm, potentially multiplying litigation risks and costs and prompting a major reevaluation of those companies' insurance coverage options.

  • October 02, 2024

    Gordon Rees Atty Asks Judge To Rethink Malpractice Ruling

    A Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani LLP attorney urged a Washington state court to reconsider a recent ruling denying the dismissal of legal malpractice claims brought by the insurer for a climbing equipment manufacturer, saying the assignment and subrogation of professional liability claims is improper.

  • October 01, 2024

    Convicted CEO Narrows Fee Bid Against Conn. Utility Co-Op

    A former Connecticut utility CEO has dropped some attorney fee claims against his onetime employer following a jury conviction for stealing public funds, telling a federal judge on Tuesday to focus on a bid for fees should prosecutors choose to litigate a second indictment.

  • October 01, 2024

    Calif. Judge Won't Let Insurers Slip Mold Coverage Suit

    A California federal judge mostly refused to allow a group of insurers to escape a suit filed by the owner and operator of a 231-unit California apartment complex seeking coverage for mold under a $69 million builders risk policy.

Expert Analysis

  • Insurance Industry Asbestos Reserve Estimates Are Unreliable

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    Insurance regulators rely on industry self-reporting in approving insurance company reorganizations, but AM Best data reveals that actuarial and audit estimates have been setting perniciously low levels of loss reserves for asbestos liabilities and thus should be treated with deep skepticism, says Jonathan Terrell at KCIC.

  • High Court Should Endorse Insurer Standing In Bankruptcy

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    In Truck Insurance Exchange v. Kaiser Gypsum, the U.S. Supreme Court will examine bankruptcy standing doctrine as applied to insurers in mass tort cases, and should use the opportunity to eliminate spurious standing roadblocks to resolving insurer objections on their merits, says Frank Perch at White and Williams.

  • How VA Court Change Is Affecting Insurance Disputes

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    The expansion of the Virginia Court of Appeals' jurisdiction to include review of decisions involving insurance coverage stands to significantly grow the body of related case law, likely to the benefit of policyholders, as evident in the recent decision in Bowman II v. State Farm Fire and Casualty Co., say Michael Levine and Olivia Bushman at Hunton.

  • Ore. Insurance Ruling Opens Door To Extracontractual Claims

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    The Oregon Supreme Court's recent Moody v. Oregon Community Credit Union decision expanding an insurer's potential liability when adjusting life insurance policies exposes insurers to extracontractual tort liability, and the boundaries of this application will likely be tested through aggressive legal action, says Tessan Wess at GRSM50.

  • Strict Duty To Indemnify Ruling Bucks Recent Trend

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    A South Carolina federal court's recent decision that it lacked subject matter jurisdiction to decide an insurer's duty to indemnify prior to the finding of insured liability sharply diverges from the more nuanced or multipronged standards established by multiple circuit courts, says Richard Mason at MasonADR.

  • How Merck Settlement Can Inform Cyberinsurance Approach

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    This month's settlement in Merck v. ACE spotlights how cyber exclusions have evolved since the significant decision in the case — allowing for insurance coverage despite the presence of a policy war exclusion — and where else corporate risk managers may look for coverage in case of a cyberattack, say attorneys at McGuireWoods.

  • What's In NY's Draft Guidance On AI Use In Insurance

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    Last week, the New York State Department of Financial Services released proposed guidance for insurers on the use of artificial intelligence systems and external consumer data and information sources for underwriting and pricing purposes, and these standards will likely help form the basis of an eventual nationwide insurance regulatory framework on AI, say attorneys at Sullivan & Cromwell.

  • How States Vary On The Fireman's Rule And Its Applicability

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    A recent decision by the Indiana Court of Appeals, reviving a firefighter’s suit, is illustrative of changes in the application and interpretation by state courts and legislatures of the Fireman’s Rule, which bans first responders from recovering for injuries sustained on the job, says Shea Feagin at Swift Currie.

  • Insured Takeaways From 10th Circ. Interrelated Claims Ruling

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    The Tenth Circuit's recent ruling in American Southwest Mortgage v. Continental Casualty that multiple claims arising from consecutive audit years were interrelated — and thus subject to a per claim limit — creates a concerning precedent for policyholders, so companies should negotiate relevant policy language, says Michael Stockalper at Saxe Doernberger.

  • Protections May Exist For Cos. Affected By Red Sea Attacks

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    Companies whose ships or cargo have been affected by the evolving military conflict in the Red Sea, and the countries under whose flags those ships were traveling, may be able to seek redress through legal action against Yemen or Iran under certain international law mechanisms, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.

  • Time To Step Up PFAS Due Diligence In Cross-Border M&A

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    Regulations in the U.S. and EU governing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances will likely evolve to become global standards out of necessity and scale, so PFAS due diligence — particularly for buyers, sellers, and lenders and investors involved in multijurisdictional mergers and acquisitions — will be essential in 2024, say attorneys at Shipman & Goodwin.

  • 3 Significant Ohio Insurance Updates From 2023

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    The past year saw some significant changes and developments in Ohio's insurance coverage landscape, from new bad faith discovery mechanisms relating to out-of-state property to the Ohio Supreme Court's interpretation of what constitutes an assault or battery for coverage purposes, say Jenna Pletcher and William Peseski at Brouse McDowell. 

  • Ill. Justices Set New Standard For Analyzing Defect Claims

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    The Illinois Supreme Court's recent ruling in Acuity v. M/I Homes of Chicago has effectively changed the landscape for how insurers may respond to construction defect claims in the state, so insurers should carefully focus their coverage analysis on whether the business risk exclusions are applicable, say Bevin Carroll and Julie Klein at Kennedys.