General Liability
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January 31, 2024
Electric Co. Says Insurer Refuses To Defend BIPA Suit
An electric company told an Illinois federal court that its insurers wrongfully refused to defend or indemnify it against an underlying proposed class action in state court by an employee who alleged the company violated the state's Biometric Information Privacy Act.
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January 31, 2024
$17.5M Hail Claim Mostly Not Covered, Insurer Says
A storage company's insurer told a Texas federal court that much of the nearly $17.5 million in hail damage the company said it suffered wasn't actually caused by hail, adding that it refused to allow a construction consultant to inspect its property "despite multiple requests."
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January 31, 2024
College Philanthropy Slams Dismissal Bid In IP Coverage Suit
A philanthropy associated with Kansas State University urged a Kansas federal court to keep alive its counterclaims in a fight over coverage for a lawsuit accusing it of stealing a man's idea relating to economic development, saying it met the pleading standards for this stage of litigation.
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January 31, 2024
Insurer Says Dispute Over Developer's HVAC Claim Settled
A Tokio Marine unit notified a Minnesota federal court Wednesday that it has reached an agreement with a construction company and subcontractor in a coverage dispute over a property developer's claim that the companies must pay to replace part of a residential HVAC system.
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January 31, 2024
Church Says Insurer Improperly Denied Covering Schism Row
A church accused its insurer of violating Pennsylvania's insurance bad faith law and breaching its insurance policy by failing to properly defend former members and trustees over the church's claims they diverted funds to start their own congregation, the church told a federal court.
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January 31, 2024
State Farm Policyholder Asks 11th Circ. To Revive Class Suit
A State Farm auto policyholder urged the Eleventh Circuit to revive her proposed class action accusing the insurer of unlawfully denying coverage for medical expenses, saying a Georgia federal court's interpretation of the medical payments provision went against precedent and the policy language.
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January 31, 2024
Liberty Mutual Units Must Help Cover Warehouse, Court Told
The insurer for a furniture retailer told a California federal court that it doesn't owe coverage to a warehouse owner in underlying bodily injury litigation, saying it was relieved of its defense duties by a lease termination agreement.
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January 30, 2024
Woman's Policy Settlement Blocks Crash Injury Claims
A woman who claims she didn't give her attorney authority to enter a policy-limit settlement and release following an automobile collision is nevertheless bound by it and therefore cannot pursue injury claims, an Illinois state appellate panel has ruled.
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January 30, 2024
Paint Co., Insurer Denied Wins In Asbestos Coverage Spat
A drywall and paint company and its excess insurer can't toss each other's cross-claims in a lawsuit by the company's primary insurers, a Texas federal judge ruled, finding Tuesday that both parties sufficiently pled their arguments in the dispute over whether the company exploited its primary insurers in underlying asbestos litigation.
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January 30, 2024
Injured Man Can't Sue Deli Insurer For Payment, 3rd Circ. Says
The Third Circuit ruled Tuesday that the insurer of a Philadelphia deli doesn't have to indemnify the owner for a $900,000 settlement between him and a man who sued after being stabbed on the premises, reasoning that the victim was barred from relitigating the same issues with the insurance company.
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January 30, 2024
Amber Heard Tells 9th Circ. To Undo Defense Coverage Loss
Actor Amber Heard asked the Ninth Circuit to nix a California federal court's ruling in favor of her insurer, arguing that the court wrongly found she had no right to independent defense counsel in a defamation suit brought in Virginia state court by her ex-husband and fellow actor Johnny Depp.
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January 30, 2024
Pipeline Builder Says Insurer Owes Defense In Explosion Suit
A pipeline construction company told a Texas federal court Tuesday that a subcontractor's insurer must defend the company in a personal injury suit stemming from a nitrogen gas explosion, asserting that it qualifies as an additional insured.
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January 30, 2024
Zurich, Mont. Mill Workers End Asbestos Liability Dispute
Zurich and a group of former mill workers suffering from the effects of asbestos exposure agreed to end their legal dispute in which the workers accused Zurich of unfair claim settlement practices by entering into retroactive reinsurance agreements, the parties told a Montana federal court.
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January 30, 2024
Fennemore Craig Growing In Calif. With Sullivan Hill Merger
In its latest West Coast expansion, Fennemore Craig PC announced Tuesday it is widening its footprint in San Diego through a merger with Sullivan Hill, with the latter's experts in insurance, construction, commercial bankruptcy and employment law joining Fennemore's existing four-attorney team in the city.
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January 30, 2024
Insurer Says Agent Caused Day Care's Coverage Denial
The insurance agent for a Florida day care that was ordered to pay $21.6 million in damages after the death of a 4-month-old baby misrepresented material information that caused the facility's insurer to deny coverage of the underlying action, Markel Insurance Co. told a Florida federal court.
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January 30, 2024
Pa. Justices Revive 'Regular Use' Auto Policy Exclusion
An auto policy exclusion barring underinsured motorist coverage for injuries involving a nonowned vehicle that an insured regularly uses does not violate a Pennsylvania law, the state's Supreme Court ruled, reversing an appeals court's decision against Erie Insurance Exchange.
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January 29, 2024
Insurer's Counterclaim Tossed From $7M Elevator Verdict Row
An insurer has no grounds to pursue a counterclaim against excess insurer Great American Insurance Co. in a dispute with an elevator maintenance company over a $7.3 million negligence verdict, a Florida federal judge ruled Monday.
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January 29, 2024
Insurer-Backed Docs Must Show Tax Records For Bias Check
A split Michigan appellate court panel has said a car crash victim seeking coverage for his injuries can force the medical examiners hired by his insurer to turn over tax documents, finding the records are relevant to determine potential bias that couldn't be discovered otherwise.
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January 29, 2024
Increase In Trafficking Reveals Hospitality Coverage Concerns
As human trafficking continues to increase and travel returns to prepandemic levels, hospitality industry policyholders may see more direct trafficking exclusions and increased education requirements as the insurance industry works to address this growing risk, experts said.
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January 29, 2024
Insurers' Ethylene Oxide Coverage Fight Stayed In Del.
Four Zurich units cannot yet pursue litigation in Delaware over coverage for hundreds of underlying ethylene oxide pollution lawsuits against a medical equipment sterilization company and other entities, a state court ruled, finding a parallel coverage action in Illinois state court largely covers the same issues.
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January 29, 2024
Pollution Exclusion Applies In Oil Well Row, Underwriters Say
Underwriters for a now-defunct oil services company told a Texas federal court they should not pay a $10.6 million underlying judgment to two companies over drainage losses to their oil wells, because the defunct company's policy excluded pollution and waste claims.
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January 29, 2024
Judge Won't Pause Ohio Trafficking Case For Centralization
An Ohio federal judge denied a woman's bid to pause her sex trafficking lawsuit while she awaits a decision to have her case centralized with other trafficking cases because it would delay efficient resolution.
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January 29, 2024
Justices' Pass On Fracking Coverage Unsurprising To Attys
The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision not to review a Third Circuit panel's ruling finding no insurance coverage for $13 million in damage to hydraulic fracturing wells did not surprise many legal experts, who said persuading the justices to take up a diversity case involving a state law issue is an uphill battle.
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January 26, 2024
Nelson Mullins' Rates Spark Coverage Spat Over Builder's Suit
An insurance policy battle between an exterior building product manufacturer and its insurer over who should pay for a law firm's services in a separate lawsuit spilled into Ohio federal court this week after the insurer removed the company's case from state court to the federal arena.
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January 26, 2024
School Says Security Insurer Failed To Cover Stabbing Row
A security company's insurer failed to provide coverage to a school for behavioral problems in an underlying suit alleging a student was stabbed and bullied in the gym due to the school's negligence and tolerance of violence, according to a suit removed to D.C. federal court.
Expert Analysis
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2 Calif. Insurance Decisions Question Boundaries Of Fortuity
Last month, California state and federal courts revisited fortuity issues in two decisions that show how the occurrence requirement and the California Insurance Code's prohibition on coverage for an insured's willful acts can be exceedingly difficult to apply to lawsuits alleging novel legal theories, say Jodi Green and Sophia von Bergen at Miller Nash.
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Insurer Implications As 3 Climate Suits Return To State Courts
Three federal circuit courts recently remanded climate change lawsuits brought by state and local governments against major energy corporations back to state courts, where plaintiffs are more likely to succeed, thus significantly increasing their insurers' and reinsurers' exposure to defense costs and judgments, say José Umbert and Jason Reeves at Zelle.
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6 Rulings Reinforce BIPA Coverage For Illinois Policyholders
Six well-reasoned recent decisions in the Northern District of Illinois have considerably strengthened policyholders’ arguments for commercial general liability coverage in lawsuits brought under the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act, say attorneys at Neal Gerber.
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'Take Home' COVID And Emerging Liability Insurance Issues
Plaintiffs may face an uphill battle in take-home COVID-19 suits — cases filed against employers when employees contract the virus at work and then infect their family members — but insurers could still be on the hook for defense costs in protracted litigation, say Melissa D'Alelio and Michael Collier at Robins Kaplan.
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The Misinterpretation Of Pa.'s Bad Faith Claims Handling Rule
Courts applying Pennsylvania law in insurance coverage disputes, such as the recently decided Walker v. Foremost Insurance, and finding that where an insurer establishes that the subject claim is not covered by the insurer’s policy there can also be no bad faith claim by the insured, are inaccurately interpreting state law, say George Stewart and Max Louik at Reed Smith.
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3 Insurance Lessons From Target Data Breach Ruling
In Target v. ACE American Insurance, a Minnesota federal court recently recognized that commercial general liability policies cover losses arising from data breaches, providing useful lessons for policyholders, including a perspective on occurrence and loss of use, say attorneys at Pasich.
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Del. Related Claims Ruling Is Good News For Insurers
The Delaware Supreme Court recently denied coverage for a shareholder class action in First Solar v. National Union First Insurance, rejecting the test for assessing relatedness-based coverage issues, and opening the door for insurers to rely on specific policy wording when evaluating related claims, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.
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How Sonic Boom Risk Informs 'Physical Loss' For COVID Era
Applied to today's COVID-19 business interruption insurance battles, insurers' historical treatment of damage associated with sonic booms — or explosive sounds stemming from supersonic airplane speeds — may call into question the many court rulings barring coverage for pandemic-related losses on narrow physical loss grounds, say Peter Kochenburger at the University of Connecticut and Jeffrey Stempel at University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
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Justices Must Apply Law Evenly In Shadow Docket Rulings
In recent shadow docket decisions, the U.S. Supreme Court has inconsistently applied the requirement that parties demonstrate irreparable harm to obtain injunctive relief, which is problematic for two separate but related reasons, says David Hopkins at Benesch.
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Where NY Regulator's Insurance Investigation Is Headed
The New York Department of Financial Services' recent inquiry into property and casualty insurers' usage of credit information in underwriting could precede a number of actions addressing the practice, say Matthew Gaul and Maxfield Fey at Willkie.
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What Cos. Can Glean From Early Cyber Policy Cases
Insurance claims for cyberattacks under cyber-specific policies have thus far been less contested than claims brought under commercial, crime and professional liability policies, however that may be changing, as cyber losses and liabilities continue to escalate and the market hardens, says Daniel Healy at Anderson Kill.
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A Guide To Extrinsic Evidence In Determining Duty To Defend
As the eight-corners rule for the duty to defend is increasingly riddled with exceptions to its strict formulation of confining the analysis to only the language of the insurance policy and the underlying complaint, Richard Mason at MasonADR discusses the newest notable decisions and offers strategies for attorneys litigating the duty to defend.
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What Insureds Should Look For In Excess Policies
A recent California appellate court decision, Truck Insurance Exchange v. Kaiser Cement, demonstrates how courts will protect policyholder expectations against primary insurance carriers' actions that might restrict available excess coverage, and highlights how insureds should be diligent in reviewing excess policies on primary erosion, say Courtney Horrigan and Elizabeth Taylor at Reed Smith.