Property
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December 19, 2023
Settlement Between La. Diocese, Insurer Upheld In Storm Suit
A Louisiana federal judge upheld a settlement between a Catholic diocese and the church's self-funded insurance program, refusing to throw out the agreement in favor of arbitration proceedings.
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December 19, 2023
GE Presses 11th Circ. To Keep Turbine Suit In Arbitration
General Electric has urged the Eleventh Circuit to keep a $28 million dispute over an Algerian power plant turbine failure in arbitration, arguing that even though the plant owners weren't signatories to a services contract with the facility operator, they benefited from the agreement.
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December 19, 2023
SC Jury Finds Insurers Correctly Denied Fire Loss Coverage
A South Carolina state jury unanimously said three insurers correctly denied coverage to a property management company for damage and losses stemming from a 2019 fire, finding a policy endorsement required automatic sprinkler systems to be connected, maintained and in working order, according to a verdict sheet filed Tuesday.
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December 18, 2023
Restoration Co. Not Covered For Homeowner's Lost Property
An insurer doesn't owe coverage to a restoration company for a $428,000 judgment reached over a woman's lost and damaged property, a Virginia federal court ruled Monday, finding that the company failed to notify its insurer of the initial loss and subsequent lawsuit.
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December 18, 2023
NJ Panel Backs Insurers' Win In Versace Parent's COVID Suit
A New Jersey appellate court rejected a COVID-19 pandemic coverage appeal from the parent company of Versace, Jimmy Choo and Michael Kors, finding Monday it did not allege any covered physical loss resulting from the virus.
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December 18, 2023
Aluminum Co.'s Coverage Claim For Over $165M Cut To $10M
A South Carolina federal judge capped an aluminum company's potential recovery from its insurers for losses related to a fire at $10 million, greatly limiting the scope of its claim for more than $165 million in damaged equipment and lost income.
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December 18, 2023
$8B Counterclaims In Chinese Insurer's Hotel Theft Suit Fail
A California federal judge tossed $8 billion in counterclaims made by a law firm and an investor accused by a Chinese insurer of playing a role in a billion-dollar title theft scheme involving American luxury hotels in New York and California.
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December 15, 2023
Generator Co. Wasn't Liable For Fire, Judge Says
A portable generator company doesn't have to reimburse an insurer for damages it covered after a fire broke out at a policyholder's home, a Minnesota federal court said, finding that the insurer failed to present evidence that would allow it to prevail on design or manufacturing defect claims.
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December 15, 2023
Insurer Escapes Covering Ky. Contractors In Defects Row
A federal judge allowed an insurer to escape coverage for a pair of contractors embroiled in a defective construction dispute with the owner of a Louisville, Kentucky, apartment complex, finding Friday that the underlying claims were not covered under its policy.
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December 15, 2023
La. Town Doesn't Have To Arbitrate Hurricane Damage Claims
A group of insurers cannot force a Louisiana town to arbitrate its hurricane damage claims, a federal judge ruled, finding that the state's anti-arbitration law applies.
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December 15, 2023
Condo Group Says Insurer Owes $3M For Roof Repairs
A Maryland condominium association sued a Nationwide unit over its refusal to cover roughly $3 million in wind and hail damage to its roofs, claiming the insurer ignored evidence to insist that the damage preceded the effective period of its policy.
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December 15, 2023
Shopping Centers Seek $57M For Hurricane Maria Damage
The owner of six shopping centers damaged by Hurricane Maria in 2017 asked a Puerto Rico federal court to force its insurer to cover more than $57 million in losses it suffered, partially because of a six-year delay in full payment of its claims.
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December 14, 2023
Fidelity Must Pay $185K Over Failed Property Sale, Jury Says
A Virginia federal jury on Tuesday awarded a property owner $185,000 from its title insurer over a failed $1.6 million sale, two months after the case judge found that the insurer introduced doubts over the property's title that led the prospective buyer to scuttle the sale.
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December 14, 2023
AIG Says Fla. Marina Must Pay For Damaged Boat
AIG is seeking reimbursement of over $240,000 from a Miami marina, telling a Florida federal court that the marina's negligence contributed to a boat lift malfunction, which left its policyholder's boat damaged beyond repair.
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December 14, 2023
Insurer Sues To Recoup Costs Of Furniture Lost At Sea
A London-based insurer took a Danish shipping company to New York federal court Thursday, claiming the company is responsible for more than $100,000 worth of Ashley Furniture products that fell overboard during an international shipment.
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December 14, 2023
Agent Says It Didn't Mess Up Rental's Hurricane Ida Coverage
An insurance agency told a Louisiana federal court it didn't have to anticipate the type or amount of coverage needed by a policyholder beset with hurricane damage, as the company's only responsibility was to procure coverage, which it did.
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December 14, 2023
8th Circ. Says Settlement Bars Dealership's Coverage Bid
The Eighth Circuit rejected a St. Louis car dealership's bid for additional business interruption coverage from a Nationwide unit, affirming a Missouri federal court's decision finding that a limited settlement between the parties barred further recovery.
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December 13, 2023
Auto Shop Holding Hail-Damaged Cars Hostage, Insurer Says
An auto repair shop is unfairly refusing to release to its insurer cars that the insurer took ownership of as part of a settlement with a dealership on behalf of the shop, the insurer told an Arkansas federal court, saying the shop is taking advantage of the situation.
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December 13, 2023
Insurer Warns Of 2024 Geopolitical Challenges For Companies
Company bosses face the threat of legal action next year over failures on geopolitical factors, artificial intelligence and concerns about the environment, an insurer warned Wednesday.
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December 13, 2023
Lessor Denies Delaying $97M Payout Over Lost Plane
An aircraft lessor told a London court that it has already paid out an indemnity following the destruction of its leased plane in Sudan and that therefore a claim by a Saudi airline for $97 million in insurance proceeds should fall away.
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December 13, 2023
UK Motor Insurers Face 'Worst Losses In Decade' In 2023
Motor insurance companies in the U.K. are likely to face punishing losses this year, Ernst & Young said Wednesday, as the firm warned that hikes in premiums have failed to keep pace with the spiraling cost of claims.
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December 12, 2023
Insurer Says NJ Recycler's Fire Coverage Row Belongs In NY
An insurer asked a New Jersey federal court to toss a paper recycler's suit seeking millions of dollars in losses from a 2023 fire at its facility, arguing the company "flouted" a policy mandate requiring all litigation be brought in New York.
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December 12, 2023
Illinois Casualty Can't Swamp Landlord's Leak Coverage Suit
Illinois Casualty Co. has lost its bid to toss a landlord's suit for insurance coverage over water leaks in a St. Louis restaurant after a Missouri federal judge ruled that the cause of structural damage to the restaurant is in dispute and that a jury will need to decide if the damage is covered.
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December 12, 2023
Policy Excludes Princeton's Cleanup Costs, Insurer Says
Chubb unit Ace American Insurance Co. pushed back on a pollution coverage suit from Princeton, New Jersey, telling a Garden State federal court that a pair of exclusions defeat the town's claims because it owns the property they center on.
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December 12, 2023
No Coverage For Fatal Party Shooting, Calif. Panel Says
A Farmers unit had no duty to defend or indemnify a man who fatally shot a guest at a house party and pled guilty to manslaughter, a California state appeals court affirmed, finding that the policy's intentional acts exclusion applied to a subsequent wrongful death suit.
Expert Analysis
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NY Ruling Should Make Counsel More Cautious In Emails
A recent New York Appellate Division decision, Philadelphia Insurance v. Kendall, makes it much more likely that a settlement could be effectuated by simple email exchanges without more formal written documentation memorializing all the terms of the settlement, says Christopher Gorman at Abrams Fensterman.
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Where Insurance Coverage For Condo Collapse Gets Murky
Property and casualty coverage for the Champlain Towers tragedy may be complicated, since different versions of collapse coverage are found in different policies, both for the individual condo owners and the condominium association, say Glenn Jacobson and Mark Binsky at Abrams Gorelick.
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Courts Should Heed Contract Law In COVID-19 Physical Loss
While a recent Law360 guest article urged courts to adopt the particle theory of coverage in deciding COVID-19-related property loss and damage claims, this approach ignores the intent, function and language of commercial insurance policies — not to mention the science itself, say Adam Fleischer and Elisabeth Ross at BatesCarey.
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Insurance Brokers Should Expect Wave Of E&O Claims
Policyholders' unsuccessful COVID-19 business interruption suits and the pandemic-related move to remote work will likely result in a plethora of errors and omissions claims brought against insurance agents and brokers, as evidenced by recently filed cases, says Peter Biging at Goldberg Segalla.
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COVID Insurance Rulings Are Misinterpreting 'Physical Loss'
Recent court decisions interpreting "direct physical loss" clauses to deny COVID-19 business interruption recovery where the subject property has not been structurally altered contradict the purpose of all-risks insurance, the ordinary meaning of the operative policy language and pre-pandemic case law, says Lee Epstein at Flaster Greenberg.
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Revamping Law Firm Marketing Lists — With Partner Buy-In
Jackson Lewis’ Paige Bowser shares lessons from the firm's recent overhaul of an outdated email marketing database, including tips for getting partners on board, ensuring compliance with privacy laws and augmenting outreach strategies.
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Courts Should Defer To Science On COVID-19 Physical Loss
As litigation of pandemic-related business interruption claims continues nationwide, the insurance carriers and courts adopting the most conservative interpretation of "physical loss or damage" — the basic trigger for business interruption coverage — are making erroneous assumptions about a complex physical phenomenon, says Micah Skidmore at Haynes and Boone.
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The Murky World Of Legal Rankings Gets Some Clarity In NJ
New Jersey's new, stringent approach to legal rankings will make accolade advertising more transparent, benefiting both attorneys and clients and offering legal marketers a new set of best practices amid evolving standards, say Penny Paul at Lowenstein Sandler and Susan Peters at Greybridge.
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Embracing ESG: Cigna Counsel Talks Employee Wellness
Building employee well-being into corporate environmental, social and governance priorities required our legal team to focus more closely on cross-functional collaboration within the company and increased communication with our board of directors and shareholders, says Julia Brncic at Cigna.
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Hybrid Work Models Are Key To Gender Parity In Law Firms
To curb the historically high rates of attrition among female lawyers, Roberta Liebenberg at Fine Kaplan and Stephanie Scharf at Scharf Banks suggest firms must normalize hybrid work schedules, and they recommend best practices to promote engagement among all attorneys, regardless of where they work.
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An Insurer's Guide To Policyholder Bankruptcy
Given the increased likelihood of policyholders filing bankruptcy petitions in the wake of the pandemic, insurance professionals must be aware of five basic principles when dealing with an insured in bankruptcy, says Eric Fitzgerald at Goldberg Segalla.
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Attorneys Beware: Zoom Depositions Are Likely Inadmissible
As legal proceedings have moved online in light of the pandemic, lawyers may mistakenly believe that recorded Zoom video depositions can be entered as evidence, but without certain safeguards, the testimony is unlikely to be accepted by courts, says Phillip Zisook at Schoenberg Finkel.
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NJ Policyholders Could Still See Recovery For COVID Losses
Although New Jersey state and federal courts have decided the majority of dispositive motions in COVID-19 business interruption insurance cases in favor of insurers, policyholders retain a plausible path to recovery depending on the nature of their loss and the precise policy language at issue, say Lee Epstein and Matthew Goldstein at Flaster Greenberg.