General Liability
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August 21, 2025
Pa. Firm Lacked Standing To Sue Legal Malpractice Insurer
A Philadelphia law firm that dropped its bad faith lawsuit against its insurer was not a true legal entity and never had standing to sue for coverage of a legal malpractice case that ended in a $600,000 judgment, a Pennsylvania federal judge ruled Thursday.
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August 21, 2025
Insurance Litigation Week In Review
Units of Chubb and AIG don't owe coverage to CVS in suits over the opioid epidemic, BP and Chevron needn't reimburse a surety $11 million, a reinsurer must face investors' misrepresentation claims, and an Allianz insurer must pay $23 million in damages and interest in an asbestos coverage suit.
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August 21, 2025
Canadian Insurer Manulife Taps Ex-JPMorgan Atty As GC
Manulife, a global insurance and investment firm based in Toronto, announced Thursday it found a replacement for its outgoing general counsel, naming to the post an attorney who previously served a leadership role in JPMorgan's legal department and was general counsel for the New York-based arm of Japan's largest bank.
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August 21, 2025
Aegon Boosts Buyback To €400M, Weighs Moving Base To US
Aegon NV said Thursday it is doubling its current €200 million ($233 million) share repurchase program to €400 million as the pensions and insurance specialist begins a review of plans to shift its head office to the U.S.
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August 20, 2025
Driver Can Sue Progressive After PIP Claim Rights Restored
A Michigan appellate court panel ruled on Tuesday that an injured driver can proceed with her personal injury protection claims against Progressive, relying on a recent state Supreme Court decision that found those who transfer legal claims to third parties can pursue the claims if they are later transferred back.
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August 19, 2025
Manufacturing Cos. Score $23M Win In Lengthy Asbestos Suit
Two manufacturing companies involved in a long-running dispute over coverage for asbestos bodily injury claims have won $23 million from an Allianz unit for damages and interest, with a New York trial court finding the manufacturers properly determined claim liabilities.
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August 19, 2025
Insurers Avoid Coverage For Alleged $8.5M Judgment Scheme
Two insurers owed no coverage to companies facing abuse of process claims, a Minnesota federal court ruled in two separate cases decided on the same issues, finding that commercial general liability policies' coverage for malicious prosecution did not apply.
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August 18, 2025
Insurers Avoid Defending Ericsson In Terrorist Payment Suits
Units of Travelers and Chubb have no duty to defend Swedish telecommunications company Ericsson Inc. over claims it paid protection money to foreign terrorist organizations so its projects and other business interests wouldn't be attacked, a Texas federal court ruled Monday.
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August 18, 2025
Del. Justices Reject CVS Bid For Opioid Claim Insurance
CVS Corp. lost its bid on Monday for Delaware Supreme Court reversal of a lower court ruling rejecting the healthcare giant's argument that insurers should cover government, hospital and third-party payer claims for economic losses related to the company's opioid dispensing practices.
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August 15, 2025
Technology Co. Says Zurich Must Defend Shareholder Suit
A technology company behind a brain fitness app told a Delaware federal court Friday that a Zurich unit must defend it in an underlying shareholder suit accusing the company and its directors of misappropriating funds, misleading investors and violating corporate obligations.
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August 15, 2025
Smoke Shop Tells Panel It's Owed Defense Over Fatal Crash
A North Carolina smoke shop urged a state appeals court to find that its insurer must defend it in a lawsuit alleging that an individual who consumed nitrous oxide products from the shop caused a fatal auto collision, noting it has already disputed underlying allegations of negligence.
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August 15, 2025
Excess Insurer Blames Primary For Costly Auto Collision Deal
An excess insurer told a California federal court that the primary insurer of a construction company failed to reach a lesser settlement amount in a suit alleging the company's owner was responsible for a car collision.
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August 15, 2025
Insurer Says Towing Co. Not Covered In Car Hood Injury Suit
Prime Property and Casualty Insurance Inc. is suing a towing company in Florida federal court, saying it has no obligation to continue defending it in an injury suit stemming from injuries to a woman after one of the company's drivers helped jumpstart her car.
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August 14, 2025
Ruling May Increase Reinsurers' Caution In Insureds' Dealings
A Texas federal judge's ruling that a chemical manufacturer can continue to pursue litigation against a reinsurer in connection with the manufacturer's roughly $100 million business interruption claim offered a well-reasoned analysis as to when a policyholder has standing to bring a direct action against a reinsurer, experts said.
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August 14, 2025
State Farm Found Liable For Bad Faith In Moped Death Suit
A Florida federal judge has found State Farm liable for bad faith following a jury trial in a lawsuit involving the DUI-related death of a moped driver, whose family accused the insurer of failing to timely settle their claim against the estate of the driver accused of causing the fatal crash.
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August 14, 2025
Fla. Citizens Ruling Highlights Late Property Claim Risks
A recent Florida appellate court ruling affirming that the state's last-resort insurer properly denied a late-filed claim for hurricane damage wasn't surprising given legislative changes in recent years, but highlighted the import of filing timely claims, experts say.
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August 14, 2025
Dental Clinic Privacy Breach Claims Not Covered, Insurer Says
A dental practice's insurer told an Illinois federal court it should owe no coverage in an underlying proposed class action accusing the practice of transmitting patients' sensitive personal information to Alphabet Inc. via the business's online scheduling platform, arguing an exclusion concerning "personal information" applies.
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August 14, 2025
Insurance Key To Mitigating Mortgage Risks From Flooding
The increase of flooding in areas outside mandatory flood insurance purchase zones is contributing to mortgage risks for underinsured homeowners following disasters, underscoring a need to find ways to ensure more people have flood coverage, experts say.
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August 14, 2025
Truck Insurer Wants Out Of AWOL Client's Crash Suit Defense
A commercial auto insurance company asked a Georgia federal judge to declare it has no duty to defend a trucking company in a hit-and-run suit, telling the court it's been "ethically obligated to withdraw" its attorneys from defending the company in the underlying case.
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August 14, 2025
Insurance Litigation Week In Review
Defense cost payments by 3M can't satisfy the self-insured retention of its subsidiary's insurance policies, a subcontractor's insurer must indemnify a property owner in a pending injury suit, an excess insurer owes $2 million for a car crash, and a gym chain may have coverage for losses stemming from COVID-19 shutdown orders. Here, Law360 takes a look at the past week's top insurance news.
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August 14, 2025
Poetry In Motions: Wallace Stevens Wedded Art, Insurance
Wallace Stevens was an acclaimed modernist poet, but his parallel career as an insurance attorney isn't as widely discussed, according to attorney Daniel J. Kornstein, who has studied Stevens' life. To mark the 70th anniversary of Stevens' death, Law360 spoke with Kornstein about what insurance law may have meant to the poet.
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August 13, 2025
2nd Circ. Affirms Indemnity Ruling In Still-Pending Injury Row
A New York federal court didn't err in declaring that a subcontractor's insurer had a duty to indemnify a property owner in a worker's construction injury lawsuit that is still pending, the Second Circuit affirmed Wednesday, even though the underlying court later found the original indemnity agreement invalid.
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August 13, 2025
No Coverage For Senior Center In Sex Abuse Suit, Court Told
A senior care facility isn't owed coverage for an underlying lawsuit accusing a facility chaplain of sexually assaulting a patient, the facility's insurer said, arguing coverage is precluded due to a molestation exclusion and because the allegations don't pertain to a medical incident.
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August 13, 2025
Insurer Owes Defense In Hotel Trafficking Suits, Court Told
Red Roof Inn told an Ohio federal court Wednesday that a Liberty Mutual unit must defend it in 11 lawsuits alleging it violated the U.S. Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act by financially benefitting from human trafficking, arguing the claims fall outside separate exclusions for intended and criminal acts.
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August 13, 2025
Atty Leaves Montana Firm For Tucker Arensberg In Pittsburgh
A move across the country to new surroundings at Tucker Arensberg PC's Pittsburgh office has given a seasoned attorney the opportunity to expand the scope of his litigation practice into new areas.
Expert Analysis
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Use The Right Kind Of Feedback To Help Gen Z Attorneys
Generation Z associates bring unique perspectives and expectations to the workplace, so it’s imperative that supervising attorneys adapt their feedback approach in order to help young lawyers learn and grow — which is good for law firms, too, says Rachael Bosch at Fringe Professional Development.
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Congress Can And Must Enact A Supreme Court Ethics Code
As public confidence in the U.S. Supreme Court dips to historic lows following reports raising conflict of interest concerns, Congress must exercise its constitutional power to enact a mandatory and enforceable code of ethics for the high court, says Muhammad Faridi, president of the New York City Bar Association.
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State Of The States' AI Legal Ethics Landscape
Over the past year, several state bar associations, as well as the American Bar Association, have released guidance on the ethical use of artificial intelligence in legal practice, all of which share overarching themes and some nuanced differences, say Eric Pacifici and Kevin Henderson at SMB Law Group.
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NY Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q3
In a relatively light few months for banking legal updates in New York, the state Department of Financial Services previewed its views on banking sector artificial intelligence use via insurer guidance, and an anti-money laundering enforcement action underscored the importance of international monitoring processes, say Eric McLaughlin and Dana Bayersdorfer at Davis Polk.
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Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: September Lessons
In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy identifies practice tips from four recent class certification rulings involving denial of Medicare reimbursements, automobile insurance disputes, veterans' rights and automobile defects.
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3 Coverage Tips As 2nd Circ. 'Swipes Left' On Tinder Claim
The Second Circuit's recent opinion in Match Group v. Beazley Underwriting, overturning Tinder's victory on its insurer's motion to dismiss a coverage action, reinforces three best practices policyholders purchasing claims-made coverage should adhere to in order to avoid late-notice defenses, say Lynda Bennett and Alexander Corson at Lowenstein Sandler.
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What To Know About Insurance Coverage For Antitrust Risks
With all the regulatory activity surrounding antitrust and unfair competition claims, as highlighted by last month's D.C. federal court decision that Google is a monopolist, businesses must not only ensure compliance, but also understand their potential insurance coverage when such claims arise, says Micah Skidmore at Haynes Boone.
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Rise Of Transpo Contractors Brings Insurance Disputes
As more independent contractors are contracted and subcontracted in the delivery industry, companies must be prepared to defend claims from drivers who are injured on the job as they are often seeking to establish an employment relationship with one of the entities in the chain, says Nathan Milner at Goldberg Segalla.
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Finding Coverage For Online Retail Privacy Class Actions
Following recent court rulings interpreting state invasion of privacy and electronic surveillance statutes triggering a surge in the filing of privacy class actions against online retailers, companies should examine their various insurance policies, including E&O and D&O, for defense coverage of these claims, says Alison Gaske at Gilbert LLP.
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What We Know From Early Cyberinsurance Rulings
Recent cyber disruption incidents, like the Crowdstrike outage and the CDK Global cyberattack this summer, highlight the necessity of understanding legal interpretations of cyberinsurance coverage — an area in which there has been little litigation thus far, say Peter Halprin and Rebecca Schwarz at Haynes Boone.
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Notable Q2 Updates In Insurance Class Actions
Mark Johnson and Mathew Drocton at BakerHostetler discuss the muted nature of the property and casualty insurance class action space in the second quarter of the year, with no large waves made in labor depreciation and total-loss vehicle class actions, but a new offensive theory emerging for insurance companies.
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Insurance Lessons From 11th Circ. Ruling On Policy Grammar
The Eleventh Circuit's recent decision in ECB v. Chubb Insurance, holding that missing punctuation didn't change the clear meaning of a professional services policy, offers policyholder takeaways about the uncertainty that can arise when courts interpret insurance policy language based on obscure grammatical canons, say Hugh Lumpkin and Garrett Nemeroff at Reed Smith.
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6 Factors That Can Make For A 'Nuclear' Juror
Drawing from recent research that examines the rise in nuclear verdicts, Ken Broda-Bahm at Persuasion Strategies identifies a few juror characteristics most likely to matter in assessing case risk and preparing for jury selection — some of which are long-known, and others that are emerging post-pandemic.