General Liability

  • January 08, 2024

    Travelers Unit Owes $2.5M For Injury Suit, Liberty Mutual Says

    A pair of Liberty Mutual units told a New York federal court Monday that a Travelers insurer owes them more than $2.5 million for the costs of defending and settling claims against a construction company after an employee was injured at a work site.

  • January 08, 2024

    9th Circ. Must Define 'Occurrence' In Opioid Coverage Fight

    The question of what constitutes an occurrence, an accident that triggers an insurer's defense obligations, will take center stage before the Ninth Circuit and legal experts say the panel must clarify whether California law requires units of AIG and Chubb to defend McKesson against government opioid suits.

  • January 08, 2024

    High Court Won't Review Tossing Of UPS' Dispute With Airline

    The U.S. Supreme Court declined on Monday to review a Second Circuit ruling upholding the dismissal, for lack of personal jurisdiction, of UPS' indemnification fight against Taiwanese airline EVA Airways after an AIG unit had sued UPS over damaged vitamin pallets the airline was contracted to transport.

  • January 05, 2024

    Insurance Mogul Fights Bid To Clarify Fraud Case Review

    An embattled insurance mogul has urged the North Carolina Supreme Court to resist a bid by a group of allegedly defrauded insurers to explain the terms of the court's agreement to review a potential $420 million judgment, arguing that it would be an "unprecedented" move.

  • January 05, 2024

    Drunken Driver Says Geico Forced $14M Settlement On Him

    A drunken driver accused of causing two deaths claimed Geico failed to settle a wrongful death claim against him for a reasonable value, forcing him to take a $14 million settlement deal one day before trial, according to a suit removed to Nevada federal court.

  • January 05, 2024

    Sanctioned Co. Can't Get Coverage For Ga. Murder, Court Told

    An insurer tried again in Georgia federal court Friday to escape defending a property management company that was sanctioned for spoiling evidence in underlying litigation accusing it of failing to maintain safety at an apartment complex where a man was shot to death in 2021.

  • January 05, 2024

    Insurer Sued Over $3.5M Colo. Sewer Damage Award

    A Colorado county water authority has accused Gemini Insurance Co. of failing to defend a construction company that was found liable for $3.5 million in damages related to a botched construction project that caused a sewage line failure.

  • January 05, 2024

    Texas Co. Says It's Owed Coverage In Antitrust Class Actions

    Willow Bridge Property Co. is suing its insurers after it was denied coverage in 35 putative class actions alleging that it and others conspired to use RealPage software to inflate apartment lease rates.

  • January 05, 2024

    Property Co. Can't Get Coverage In Equipment Damage Row

    An industrial contractor's insurer has no duty to indemnify a commercial property owner over claims that the contractor caused more than $500,000 in damages for wrongly removing and damaging electrical equipment at a Pennsylvania property, a federal court ruled, finding a policy's faulty workmanship exclusion was applicable.

  • January 05, 2024

    Ky. Court Tosses Insurers' Asbestos Coverage Dispute

    A Kentucky state court tossed a group of insurers' asbestos coverage suit against a defunct machine company, saying the court lacks subject matter jurisdiction since the dissolved and liquidated company no longer has any interest in the insurance policies at issue.

  • January 05, 2024

    Mich. Parents Can Control 'Awkward' Teens' Auto Policies

    A Michigan appellate panel says parents have the authority to make auto insurance policy decisions for their children, rejecting arguments that a 17-year-old's liability limits should be declared invalid because the teen's mother selected his policy without his input.

  • January 04, 2024

    Cleaning Co. Seeks Coverage For Wrongful Termination Suit

    A kitchen exhaust system cleaning company is seeking over $250,000 in damages from two Hartford units and an insurance agency, telling an Ohio federal court that the insurers wrongfully denied coverage for an underlying judgment entered against it in a wrongful termination lawsuit.

  • January 04, 2024

    Fla. Medical Device Maker Sues Insurer Over Equipment Loss

    A medical device manufacturer accused a Munich Re unit of failing to properly cover the "equipment breakdown loss" it said it suffered in February 2022 related to its mills and lathes, according to a suit removed to Florida federal court Wednesday. 

  • January 04, 2024

    PF Chang's COVID Coverage Capped At $1M, Calif. Panel Says

    P.F. Chang's is entitled to only $1 million in coverage for its COVID-19 losses, a California state appeals court ruled, finding its policy's pandemic event endorsement clearly limits coverage for all restaurant locations to a total of $1 million.

  • January 04, 2024

    Power Supply Co. Says Insurers' Fraud Claim Is Duplicative

    An infrastructure technology company urged an Ohio federal court to dismiss a fraud claim brought by two insurers looking to recoup $18.7 million for an explosion at an insured's Alabama manufacturing facility, telling the court the claim is duplicative of the lawsuit's breach of contract claim.

  • January 04, 2024

    Chubb Unit Denied New Trial In $12.4M Crash Coverage Row

    A Chubb unit can't get a new trial in a crash coverage dispute following a jury's nearly $12.5 million verdict in favor of a trucking company, a Missouri federal court ruled, finding that any alleged errors during the trial did not prejudice the parties.

  • January 03, 2024

    Paving Co. Seeks $595K From Gov't Contractor, Liberty Mutual

    A paving company is seeking over $595,000 from an engineering services company and two payment and performance bond providers, telling a North Carolina federal court that the contractor failed to pay the full amount owed for its work on a U.S. Marine Corps air station.

  • January 03, 2024

    Wash. High Court Won't Take Up Gun Group's Insurance Fine

    The Washington State Supreme Court won't consider an appeal from a group that covers legal expenses for members who use weapons in self-defense, leaving in place a $50,000 fine from state regulators who said the organization essentially sold insurance without a license. 

  • January 03, 2024

    Bulk Of Allegations Dismissed In Geico No-Fault Fraud Suit

    A New Jersey federal judge dismissed the bulk of fraud and racketeering allegations brought by Geico against a spine clinic and its medical director, concluding that the state's no-fault insurance statute requires arbitration for disputes over personal injury protection claims.

  • January 03, 2024

    Robbed Jeweler Says Insurer Underpaid $1.6M In 'Scheme'

    A jewelry company accused a Hartford unit of undervaluing its losses by over $1.6 million following a 2020 robbery, telling a California federal court that the insurer has embarked on a scheme to force the jeweler to accept a lowly offer.

  • January 03, 2024

    AIG, Fox Drop Dispute Over Defense Of Asbestos Suits

    An AIG unit agreed to drop its dispute with Twentieth Century Fox over defense of underlying asbestos claims against the famed film studio, telling a California federal court Wednesday that the parties reached a confidential settlement.

  • January 03, 2024

    Insurer Off Hook For Defense Of Construction Defect Suit

    A general contractor's insurer has no duty to defend it against faulty workmanship claims over a home renovation project, a California federal court ruled, finding all the underlying claims fell within a breach of contract exclusion.

  • January 03, 2024

    Travelers Must Face Suit Over Ill. Condo Storm Damage

    An Illinois federal magistrate judge refused to trim a bad faith claim from a condominium association's more than $280,000 storm damage suit against Travelers Casualty Insurance Co. of America, finding that the count was adequately pled with specific allegations.

  • January 02, 2024

    Walmart Scores Defense Win In Ark. Opioid Coverage Fight

    Walmart is entitled to a defense from its insurers against at least 10 government suits brought over the opioid epidemic, an Arkansas state court judge ruled Friday, finding the suits involve a potentially covered occurrence and were brought "because of" bodily injuries.

  • January 02, 2024

    Hanover Drops Coverage Dispute Over Kind Bar Death

    Hanover American Insurance Co. dropped its lawsuit against Kind LLC, the insurer told a Nebraska federal court, ending a coverage dispute over the settlement of an underlying suit brought by the estate of a child who died from an allergic reaction after eating a Kind snack bar.

Expert Analysis

  • How NJ Bad Faith Auto Insurance Bill Compares To Pa.'s

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    The recently enacted New Jersey Insurance Fair Conduct Act, is in some ways narrower and in other ways broader than Pennsylvania's notoriously strict bad faith statute and leaves open many fundamental questions, which took Pennsylvania decades of litigation to resolve, say Kristin Jones and Brian Callaway at Troutman Pepper.

  • Del. High Court Gets It Right With Opioid Nuisance Ruling

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    In ACE v. Rite Aid, the Delaware Supreme Court has issued a groundbreaking insurance ruling that helps define the fundamental bargain at the heart of commercial insurance coverage and demonstrates why such coverage does not extend to public nuisance claims, says Adam Fleischer at BatesCarey.

  • Flawed NY Insurance Law Needs Amendments

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    The New York Comprehensive Insurance Disclosure Act, recently signed by the governor, imposes a multitude of problematic disclosure obligations on defendant-insureds, which the Legislature should — and likely will — seriously consider modifying or eliminating, says Richard Mason at MasonADR.

  • Justices May Hesitate To Review Calif. Fraud Coverage Case

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    In Adir International v. Starr Indemnity, the policyholders are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review their challenge of a California law prohibiting insurers from defending insureds in certain consumer protection claims, but the court may not be ready to decide the issue at this time, says Greg Mann at Rivkin Radler.

  • Court Split On Amazon's Seller Liability Could Be Moot

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    Courts across the country have split on Amazon's liability for products sold on its marketplace, but if more e-commerce platforms follow its lead on insurance coverage requirements for vendors, it may not matter how courts resolve the seller liability issue, says Thomas Kurland at Patterson Belknap.

  • JP Morgan Ruling May Have Broad Insurance Implications

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    The New York Court of Appeals' recent decision in J.P. Morgan Securities v. Vigilant Insurance — that settlement funds paid to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission did not constitute a penalty for insurance purposes — could have far-reaching application in other types of insurance litigation where plaintiffs could be characterized as seeking equitable relief, say Robert Shulman and Cristen Rose at Paley Rothman.

  • Insurers Should Honor Astroworld Coverage Obligations

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    While insurers may be eager to shift blame on Astroworld showrunner Travis Scott for conditions that resulted in 10 deaths and dozens of injuries, arguments suggesting the tragedy shouldn't be covered appear baseless in light of the facts and the law, says Benjamin Massarsky at Miller Friel.

  • Resolving Asbestos Suits Faster In The Pandemic And Beyond

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    Trial delays due to COVID-19 are an incentive for asbestos plaintiffs and defendants to adopt litigation reforms that can help bring cases to verdicts or settlements faster — changes that will be valuable even after the pandemic ends, says Lisa Oberg at Husch Blackwell.

  • Priority Of Coverage Lessons From 2nd Circ. Insurance Ruling

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    The recent Second Circuit decision in Century Surety v. Metropolitan Transit Authority — holding that, for priority of coverage determination, a contractual indemnity agreement governs over an insurance policy's terms — highlights the importance of understanding how the dynamics between commercial contracts and insurance policies may help shift liability, say Syed Ahmad and Yaniel Abreu at Hunton.

  • Insurance Commissioner's Agenda: NY On Industry Diversity

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    My Chi To, executive deputy superintendent of the New York State Department of Financial Services Insurance Division, discusses steps her agency is taking to promote diversity, equity and inclusion within the insurance industry and suggests practices for companies to consider adopting.

  • Insurance Considerations Amid Increased Use Of Drones

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    The growing use and rapidly evolving regulation of drone technology across industries raise tricky insurance coverage questions and increase exposure to third-party liability and first-party loss, say attorneys at Covington & Burling.

  • Nursing Homes May See Litigation Spike After 7th Circ. Ruling

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    The Seventh Circuit’s recent Federal Nursing Home Reform Act ruling in Talevski v. Health and Hospital Corp. opens skilled nursing facilities to federal litigation from private plaintiffs and could require exhaustion of administrative remedies before invoking state or federal court jurisdiction, say Randall Fearnow and Edward Holloran at Quarles & Brady.

  • 2 Cases Will Help Shape Opioid Litigation Insurance Coverage

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    Upcoming decisions from the Ohio and Delaware high courts in Acuity v. Masters Pharmaceutical and Rite Aid Corp. v. ACE American Insurance, respectively, on whether insurers must defend policyholders in prescription opioid litigation filed by government entities are sure to provide precedent for resolution of these coverage issues nationwide, say Courtney Horrigan and Kateri Persinger at Reed Smith.