General Liability
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March 30, 2023
Va. Beach Eatery Not Covered For Models' Photo Misuse Suit
An insurer doesn't owe coverage to a Virginia Beach restaurant accused by a group of professional models of misappropriating their images on the establishment's website and social media, a Virginia federal court ruled Thursday, citing policy exclusions for intellectual property infringement and criminal acts.
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March 30, 2023
Senior Center Says Bond Owner Can't Recover $44M Loan
A Texas assisted living facility made its case before a state appeals court Thursday for why a bond owner who helped finance the construction of the center wasn't the right party to recover more than $44 million in unpaid loans.
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March 30, 2023
11th Circ. Upholds Insurer Win In U-Haul Crash Coverage Suit
Southern-Owners Insurance Co. has no duty to defend or indemnify a company and its employee facing negligence claims following an automobile accident involving a U-Haul it leased, the Eleventh Circuit affirmed Thursday.
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March 30, 2023
Insurer Can't Ditch Coverage In Fla. Home Damage Suit
A Florida federal judge said Thursday that Southern-Owners Insurance Co. must defend a home contractor in a state lawsuit alleging that shoddy workmanship caused property damage, finding that the insurer failed to show that the allegations fall within any of its exclusions.
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March 30, 2023
Texas Insurance Watchdog Punches Above Weight, Chief Says
For David Bolduc, being a voice for Texas consumers as leader of the Office of Public Insurance Counsel feels good, particularly when his work positively touches the lives of average people and improves the service they get from their state government.
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March 30, 2023
Hartford Tells 9th Circ. To Uphold Virus Coverage Win
Hartford Fire Insurance Co. asked the Ninth Circuit to reject an event rental company's COVID-19 pandemic coverage appeal, arguing that the suit makes claims that have been routinely rejected by courts in California and elsewhere.
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March 29, 2023
Gym Not Covered In Traumatic Brain Injury Suit, Insurer Says
An insurer told an Illinois federal court Wednesday it should have no coverage obligations to a gymnastics facility and employee accused of negligence over a student-athlete's traumatic brain injury, arguing that separate exclusions barring coverage for gymnast injuries or injuries arising from use of certain gymnastics equipment are applicable.
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March 29, 2023
McDonald's Fire Coverage Suit Belongs in Ill., Insurer Says
A Chubb unit asked an Illinois federal court not to toss its suit against kitchen equipment manufacturer H&K International Inc. in favor of the company's Texas state action, arguing the court is the best venue to resolve its coverage dispute over fire damage to a McDonald's restaurant.
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March 29, 2023
Amazon Seeks Defense In Pa. Personal Injury Suit
A lease agreement between Amazon and the owner of a commercial warehouse space requires Endurance Assurance Corp., the owner's commercial general liability insurer, to defend Amazon in an underlying personal injury lawsuit as an additional insured, the e-commerce giant told a Pennsylvania federal court.
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March 29, 2023
Hertz Wants Out Of Allstate Suit Over Crash Coverage
Hertz asked an Idaho federal judge to dismiss it from a coverage suit over a crash involving one of its rental cars, saying it has no controversy with Allstate, which initiated the case.
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March 28, 2023
No 'Harsh' Sanction For Seattle Tunnel Driller In $600M Case
A Washington appeals panel said it wouldn't allow a trial court to instruct a jury that Seattle Tunnel Partners intentionally destroyed damning evidence in a case seeking more than $600 million in insurance coverage in connection with a broken tunnel-boring machine that delayed a 9,000-foot project.
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March 28, 2023
Chubb's New Methane Policy Raises Doubts About Reach
Chubb's recent announcement that it will require policyholders in the fossil fuel industry to reduce methane emissions could spur on more insurers to adopt climate-friendly policies, but concerns remain about whether the move goes far enough, experts say.
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March 28, 2023
Liberty Mutual Units Own Full $5.7M Settlement, Insurer Says
An excess insurer asked a California federal court Tuesday to help it recover nearly $4 million from two Liberty Mutual units for an underlying settlement reached in a lawsuit following a car accident, telling the court the subsidiaries were only pursuing their own interests during negotiations.
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March 28, 2023
Wash. Insurance Commissioner Settles COVID Firing Suit
The Washington State Office of the Insurance Commissioner has agreed to pay $115,000 to settle claims brought by a former worker who alleged she was wrongly fired after the state agency denied her request to keep working from home due to a chronic lung disease that put her at elevated risk of contracting COVID-19.
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March 28, 2023
Travelers Can Step Back From Hotel Fall Suit, Judge Rules
Travelers is no longer the first line of defense for a contractor in a personal injury suit brought by a subcontractor's employee who fell from scaffolding while working on a New York hotel, a federal judge ruled, finding that the subcontractor's insurer owes primary coverage.
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March 28, 2023
Liberty Doesn't Owe Coverage For Maine Hunting Accident
A Liberty Mutual unit does not owe coverage for a November 2017 hunting accident, a Maine federal court ruled, finding that the man who shot another individual was not an insured under a pair of homeowners policies issued to his mother and grandparents.
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March 27, 2023
Hospital's $3M Employee Theft Claim Will Go To Trial
A jury will decide a hospital's suit against its insurer seeking coverage for a $3 million theft and fraud it alleged was perpetrated against it by its former vice president, an Illinois federal judge said.
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March 27, 2023
Insurer Wants Hospital's Bad Faith Claim Tossed In Virus Suit
A Liberty Mutual unit asked a New York federal judge Monday to dismiss a Milwaukee health system's bad faith claim in its suit seeking coverage for COVID-19 expenses under its pollution policy, arguing that the bad faith allegations are bare-bones assertions.
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March 27, 2023
Travelers Must Defend Contractor In Construction Injury Suit
A Travelers unit must defend a general contractor as an additional insured in a work site injury suit by the owner of a subcontractor, a New York federal court ruled Monday, finding the owner was "clearly performing his tasks" on behalf of the subcontractor at the time of his injuries.
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March 27, 2023
Zurich Says No Coverage For Building's Roof Damage
A warehouse owner isn't entitled to coverage for water damage to the inside of its building, a Zurich unit told a Texas federal court, saying a builder's risk policy it issued only insured the construction of a new roof and excluded coverage for existing structures.
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March 27, 2023
Drivers Say Liberty Mutual's Premium Refunds Are Lacking
A putative class of Liberty Mutual drivers who accused the insurer of unfairly profiting off the COVID-19 pandemic told a California federal court that the carrier's refunds of auto insurance premiums as a result of reduced driving during the pandemic are wholly inadequate.
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March 27, 2023
Mineral Co. Seeks Travelers Unit's Defense In Talc Case
A Travelers unit must defend a mining and mineral production company against a man's claims that the talc the company supplied as part of two medical operations he underwent contained asbestos and caused his mesothelioma, the company told a Georgia federal court.
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March 24, 2023
Florida Governor Signs Tort Reform Bill Into Law
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday signed into law a sweeping tort reform bill that he said will decrease frivolous lawsuits, change the state from a "judicial hellhole," and attract more investment in the state.
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March 24, 2023
Pollution Exclusion Applies To Wildfire Injury, 9th Circ. Told
An AmTrust Financial Services Inc. unit urged the Ninth Circuit to uphold a California district court's ruling that it has no duty to defend a construction subcontractor against a worker's respiratory illness claims following cleanup efforts for the deadly 2018 Camp Fire, arguing a so-called total pollution exclusion endorsement applies.
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March 24, 2023
Insurer, Drug Co. Get More Time For Settlement Talks
A drug distributor for CVS and other pharmacy chains and its insurer were given more time from a New York federal judge to pursue a resolution of their coverage dispute over more than 25 drug-related lawsuits.

Firm Wants 9th Circ. Redo On Malicious Prosecution Coverage
A Los Angeles law firm wants the Ninth Circuit to rethink its decision that an insurance company should be reimbursed for its contributions to a malicious prosecution settlement, arguing the ruling had the "unintended consequence" of turning California insurance regulations into a "dangerous trap for unwitting insureds."

Insurer Not Liable For DUI Fatality, SC High Court Rules
The majority of the South Carolina Supreme Court found Wednesday that an individual representing a decedent in a drunken driving crash is not entitled to directly sue the insurer for failing to notify the state that a bar's liquor liability coverage was canceled.

Insurers Can't Duck Coverage Of Syngenta's Herbicide Suits
Syngenta did not make a material misrepresentation or omission in its policy renewal application that would relieve a pair of Zurich units from covering the company in litigation over herbicide injury claims, a Delaware state court ruled on Tuesday.
Expert Analysis
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NY Rulings Show Shift In Insurance Priority Approach
Some recent New York state decisions considering coverage priority of primary and excess insurance policies and contractual indemnity claims run against clear policy language, which should trump extrinsic evidence of intent, says Dan Kohane at Hurwitz Fine.
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Tips For Plaintiffs Attorneys Ahead Of Expanded Fire Season
With the expansion of fire season — both in length of time and geography — plaintiffs lawyers can expect fire-related litigation to increase this coming year and need to prepare themselves and their clients for claims that are complex, time-consuming and costly, says Gerald Singleton at Singleton Schreiber.
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Pollutant Insurance Case Holds Clues For Ohio Train Litigation
A recent Rhode Island Supreme Court decision in Regan Heating v. Arbella could mean that the wide-reaching impacts of the February train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, will trigger the enforcement of any total pollution exclusion contained in Norfolk Southern's commercial general liability policy, says Kayla O’Connor at Saxe Doernberger.
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Establishing A Record Of Good Faith In Mediation
Viacom v. U.S. Specialty Insurance, and other recent cases, highlight the developing criteria for determining good faith participation in mediation, as well as several practical tips to establish such a record, says Richard Mason at MasonADR.
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Using ChatGPT To Handle Insurance Claims Is A Risky Move
ChatGPT gets some insurance law questions surprisingly wrong, and while it handles broader coverage concepts significantly better, using it to assist with coverage questions will likely lead to erroneous results and could leave insurers liable for bad faith, says Randy Maniloff at White and Williams.
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Fla. Bill Would Rein In Personal Injury Litigation Excesses
A recently proposed bill in the Florida House that would change bad-faith laws and the admissibility of medical bills for services performed under a letter of protection would provide reasonable checks on practices that are far too common in personal injury cases in the Sunshine State, say attorneys at Baker Donelson.
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Takeaways From Tree-Clearing Co.'s 11th Circ. Insurance Win
The Eleventh Circuit's recent decision in Frankenmuth Mutual v. Brown's Clearing, interpreting the extent of knowledge required to trigger an insured's notice obligations under a commercial general liability policy, is both a welcome sign and a cautionary tale for corporate policyholders, say Garrett Nemeroff and Christopher Kuleba at Reed Smith.
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High Court Ax Of Atty-Client Privilege Case Deepens Split
The U.S. Supreme Court's recent dismissal of In re: Grand Jury as improvidently granted maintains a three-way circuit split on the application of attorney-client privilege to multipurpose communications, although the justices have at least shown a desire to address it, say Trey Bourn and Thomas DiStanislao at Butler Snow.
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Why General Liability Carriers Are Wary Of SEC Climate Rule
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's proposed rule to require companies to formally report climate change risks could come into play in five areas that should be concerning to companies and their general liability insurers, says Eric Scheiner at Kennedys.
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Wis. High Court Ruling May Open Door To Coverage Exception
The Wisconsin Supreme Court’s recent decision in Dostal v. Strand finding that an insurer had to defend a civil action following the defendant's criminal conviction on the same facts nonetheless may suggest an exception to the complaint test for determining an insurance company's defense obligation, say David Hollander and Clementine Uwabera at Stafford Rosenbaum.
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A Litigation Move That Could Conserve Discovery Resources
Bennett Rawicki at Hilgers Graben proposes the preliminary legal opinion procedure — seeking a court's opinion on a disputed legal standard at the outset, rather than the close, of discovery — as a useful resource-preservation tool for legally complex, discovery-intensive litigation.
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Trial Lawyers Rejoice: Justices May Clarify Issue Preservation
The U.S. Supreme Court's recent grant of certiorari in Dupree v. Younger should be a boon to trial and appellate lawyers as the decision will likely standardize a rule for appellate issue preservation, bringing much-needed clarity to an area critical to general litigation success, says Jeremy Christiansen at Gibson Dunn.
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Policyholder Lessons From 1st Circ. Duty To Defend Ruling
In Lionbridge Technologies v. Valley Forge Insurance, the First Circuit recently held that the obligation to defend an insured is not limited to the specific causes of action expressly stated in a complaint, providing policyholders with persuasive arguments in support of the duty to defend, say Catherine Doyle and Caroline Meneau at Jenner & Block.