Property
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January 04, 2023
11th Circ. Revives Coverage Dispute Over Wrecked Yacht
The Eleventh Circuit revived a suit against Lloyd's of London underwriters over coverage for a yacht wrecked by a hurricane, saying in a published opinion Wednesday that a question remains about whether the owner's failure to hire a full-time licensed captain increased the risk to the vessel.
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January 04, 2023
Charter Fishing Co. Says Insurer Must Cover Boat Damage
A charter fishing company is entitled to coverage for damage its $265,000 boat sustained after crashing into an underwater object, the Mississippi company argued in a suit accusing Great American Insurance Co. of wrongfully denying coverage.
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January 04, 2023
Georgia Chicken Plant Drops Insurance Case Over Fatal Leak
The owners of a Georgia chicken processing plant where six workers died from a liquid nitrogen leak have dropped their $2 million nonpayment case against an insurer, after it was trimmed by a federal judge to a single contract breach claim.
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January 04, 2023
Texas CO Leak Claimants Ask 5th Circ. To Rethink Insurer Win
Students and staff at a Texas school asked the Fifth Circuit to reconsider its decision to affirm a summary judgment ruling against them, arguing that expert testimony isn't necessary to determine whether a CNA unit was negligent in its inspection of a boiler that ultimately exposed them to carbon monoxide.
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January 04, 2023
CBD Co. Says Insurer's 'Premature' Appeal Should Be Tossed
A cannabidiol company said the Fourth Circuit should dismiss an appeal filed by its insurer in an attempt to avoid paying a $6.45 million judgment, arguing that the appeal is premature because the district court has yet to issue a final decision regarding the amount of attorney fees owed.
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January 04, 2023
Calif. Winery Inks Deal With Insurer In Smoke Damage Dispute
A California winery's federal case against its insurer was dismissed Wednesday after the parties reached a settlement over wildfire smoke damage in 2017 that tainted wine the vineyard said was worth more than $7 million.
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January 03, 2023
10th Circ. Backs Denial Of Restaurant's Virus Coverage
The Tenth Circuit denied a now-defunct Colorado Italian restaurant's COVID-19 coverage appeal in a published opinion Tuesday, finding that it did not show any physical loss or damage that would trigger coverage under its Cincinnati Insurance Co. policy.
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January 03, 2023
Chubb Unit Beats Art Collectors' $1.4M Theft Coverage Suit
A New York federal judge found that a Chubb unit correctly denied coverage to a couple seeking $1.4 million in coverage of theft from their antiquities and art collection, finding that the couple did not establish that the loss happened during the 2019 policy period.
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January 03, 2023
Calif. Panel Sides With Restaurant After COVID-19 Settlement
A San Francisco restaurant's virus endorsement in its insurance policy must apply, because otherwise the provision would be virtually illusory, a California appeals court ruled in siding with the restaurant after a settlement in its bid for COVID-19-related business interruption coverage.
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January 03, 2023
9th Circ. Asks Calif. High Court To Rule On Virus Coverage
The Ninth Circuit asked the California Supreme Court to settle the Golden State's position on whether COVID-19 can trigger property insurance coverage, setting up a potential resolution to conflicting state appellate court rulings.
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January 02, 2023
The Biggest COVID-19 Business Interruption Rulings Of 2022
After consistently getting turned down by federal appellate courts in 2021, policyholders seeking COVID-19 business interruption coverage had a bit more success in 2022 in state appellate and supreme courts, notching victories at the Vermont Supreme Court and from appellate panels in Louisiana, Pennsylvania and California.
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January 02, 2023
Top Property Insurance Cases To Watch In 2023
A New Orleans restaurant's suit for coverage of its pandemic losses and a class action accusing State Farm of discriminating against Black homeowners are among the top suits property insurance practitioners will be watching in 2023.
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December 27, 2022
Software Not Covered In Ransomware Attack, Ohio Justices Say
The Ohio Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that a ransomware attack on a medical billing company did not cause direct physical damage to the company's computer software, reversing a lower court decision and concluding there is no coverage under the company's insurance policy.
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December 22, 2022
Panel Says Insurer Owes No Defense In Building Design Suit
A Kentucky appeals panel overturned a lower court's ruling that denied an insurer an escape from defending a legally embattled building designer accused of faulty design, saying the insurer's policy excludes their coverage because an accident did not coincide with the claim.
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December 22, 2022
Insurer Needn't Cover City's Pollution Deal, 9th Circ. Says
Arrowood Indemnity Co. has no duty to indemnify a California city seeking to recover $1.4 million from a settlement over soil and groundwater contamination, the Ninth Circuit said Thursday, citing a pollution exclusion in a former metal plating business's insurance policies.
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December 22, 2022
Biggest Texas Cases Of 2022
Texas courts made their mark in a series of high-profile cases in 2022, including issuing rulings that guided insurance coverage of pandemic-related losses, determining whether out-of-state natural gas projects were subject to Lone Star State payment rules, and handing a win to the governor on mask mandates.
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December 22, 2022
AIG Unit Argues Excess Policy Not Triggered By Irma Damage
An AIG unit asked a Florida federal judge to toss a Miami condominium's suit seeking more than $2 million related to damage from Hurricane Irma, arguing that the condo didn't suffer enough damage to trigger coverage under its excess insurance policy.
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December 22, 2022
Insurer Joins Lawsuits Over Utility Co.'s Pa. Gas Explosion
Safeco Insurance claims Peoples Natural Gas failed to promptly shut off a pipeline and evacuate part of the Pennsylvania borough of Tyrone after a water contractor drilled through an active gas main in 2021, leading to an explosion and fire that killed one resident, according to a lawsuit filed in state court.
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December 22, 2022
6th Circ. Tosses 5 Cases Over COVID-19 Insurance Claims
The Sixth Circuit has issued five separate but similar opinions that dismiss claims businesses brought against insurance companies for their losses associated with COVID-19, pointing to a recent Ohio Supreme Court decision ruling against coverage in a similar business interruption case.
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December 21, 2022
Wash. Panel Reverses Farmers' Win In Roof Damage Fight
A Washington state appellate court overturned a condominium complex's trial court loss, finding coverage could exist under its Farmers Insurance Exchange policy for water damage to its building despite an exclusion for faulty design and construction.
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December 21, 2022
Insurer Says No Coverage For Scrap Metal Plant Suit
Admiral Insurance Co. asked an Alabama federal judge to find that it doesn't owe coverage to the partial owner of a scrap metal reclamation plant accused of breaching its contract with the other owner, arguing that there was no bodily injury or property damage alleged in the underlying suit.
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December 21, 2022
Insurer Says SoCal Edison Not Covered For LA Wildfire Suits
Southern California Edison Co. isn't entitled to a defense against more than 20 lawsuits accusing it of negligence in causing the September 2020 Bobcat wildfire, an insurer told a California federal court, arguing that the utility company does not qualify for coverage under its contractor's policy.
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December 21, 2022
From Jan. 6 To Taxes, 'Tis The Season For Trump Probes
A House select committee's criminal referral of Donald Trump for his role in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol adds to a growing list of potential legal woes for the ex-president, whose tax returns will be laid bare as he faces investigations and potential liabilities on many different fronts as 2022 ends.
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December 21, 2022
5th Circ. Backs Insurer's Win In School Carbon Monoxide Suit
Students and staff who were exposed to carbon monoxide at a Texas school can't move forward with their suit accusing a CNA unit of negligently performing a state-mandated boiler inspection, the Fifth Circuit ruled, saying the claimants failed to produce expert testimony that established the insurer's negligence.
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December 20, 2022
Insurer Says Condo's Irma Suit Is In Wrong State, Too Late
One of several insurers named in a $2.7 million lawsuit by a condominium association is asking a Florida federal court to dismiss it from the suit, telling the court its surplus policy requires litigation to be filed in New York and that damages must exceed $25 million to trigger coverage.
Expert Analysis
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10 Most Significant Insurance Coverage Decisions Of 2020
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Though COVID-19 was unquestionably the biggest insurance story of 2020, the most noteworthy decisions of the year had definitive impact on issues like injury-in-fact triggers and concurrent causation, says Randy Maniloff at White and Williams LLP.
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2 Decisions Reveal Key To Virus Insurance Coverage In NY
Though a New York federal court recently handed down two pro-insurer decisions in disputes over business insurance coverage for COVID-19-related losses, the rulings signal one strong legal basis for coverage, say Michael Scanlon and Greg Van Houten at Haynes and Boone.
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Limiting The Severity Of Deficient Securities Fraud Claims
The U.S. Supreme Court's evidentiary requirements of price impact at the class certification stage — established in its Halliburton II decision in 2014 — provide an effective solution to disqualify securities fraud claims with price impact deficiencies, say Nessim Mezrahi and Stephen Sigrist at SAR.
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5 Attorney Business Development Tips For The New Year
Lawyers should remember that the basics of interpersonal relationships have not changed despite the completely virtual environment caused by the pandemic, and should leverage the new year as an excuse to connect with clients in several ways, say Megan Senese and Courtney Hudson at Pillsbury.
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Minimizing Disruption To Clients During Law Firm IT Upgrades
For law firms planning overhauls in their information technology infrastructures in light of hard lessons learned from pandemic-era transition to remote work, there are five ways to ensure even the biggest tech upgrade has minimal impact on client service, says Brad Paubel at Lexicon.
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5 Trends That Will Influence E-Discovery In 2021
Changes in the way people work and communicate — which the pandemic has accelerated — will continue to bring new e-discovery challenges and shifts in data recovery this year, says Brian Schrader at Business Intelligence Associates.
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Law Firm Merger Predictions For 2021
After a brief break in the multiyear streak of increasing law firm mergers, 2021 seems poised for a return to normal, with acquisitions involving small firms — those with under 400 lawyers — likely to dominate, says Peter Zeughauser at Zeughauser Group.
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The Most-Read Insurance Law360 Guests Of 2020
Not surprisingly, the debate over potential coverage for losses resulting from COVID-19 dominated this year's most-read insurance articles written by Law360 guest experts.
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The Most-Read Legal Industry Guests Of 2020
Popular legal industry guest articles this year included commentary on white privilege in BigLaw, the pandemic's outsize impact on female lawyers, and business development in a socially distanced world.
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A Law Firm's Guide To Producing A Podcast
Courtney Hudson and Megan Senese at Pillsbury offer tips on how law firms can utilize podcasts to deliver important legal insights to clients in a COVID-19 world, and how to make the process stress-free for participating lawyers and guests.
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COVID-19 Has Broad Impact On Lost-Profit Determinations
The COVID-19 pandemic is already adding new complexities to damages calculations used in lost-profit claims litigation, even in cases in which the coronavirus is not the direct cause of the breach, say Neil Ashton and Michael Yachnik at StoneTurn.
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Virus Coverage Ruling Could Turn Scales For Insureds
A Nevada state court's recent decision in JGB Vegas Retail v. Starr Surplus, finding an insurance policy’s explicit mention of viruses did not preclude it from covering the plaintiff’s COVID-19 losses, provides game-changing ammunition for policyholders fighting insurers' overly broad exclusions, says Tae Andrews at Miller Friel.
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How Construction Industry Can Adapt To COVID-19 Disruption
As COVID-19 decreases funding and increases costs for the construction industry, participants should review their contract clauses pertaining to risk allocation, as well as their insurance policies to assess the scope of their coverage, say James Barriere and Chad Caplan at Hinckley Allen.