Specialty Lines

  • January 21, 2026

    Insurer Loses Appeals Over $40M NC Drunken Driving Verdict

    A North Carolina appeals court on Wednesday rejected efforts by insurer Integon Indemnity Corp. to appeal decisions in a pair of cases stemming from a $40 million drunken driving verdict, saying the receivers suing for breach of contract were in the correct venue.

  • January 20, 2026

    Law360 Names Firms Of The Year

    Eight law firms have earned spots as Law360's Firms of the Year, with 48 Practice Group of the Year awards among them, achieving milestones such as high-profile litigation wins at the U.S. Supreme Court and 11-figure merger deals.

  • January 20, 2026

    Cos. Seek Coverage For Military Housing Mold, Defects Suits

    A property management company and an affiliated investment company have alleged in Pennsylvania federal court that subsidiaries of insurance giants Starr and Allianz wrongfully denied them coverage for suits filed over allegedly poor military housing conditions.

  • January 16, 2026

    Law360 Names Practice Groups Of The Year

    Law360 would like to congratulate the winners of its Practice Groups of the Year awards for 2025, which honor the attorney teams behind litigation wins and significant transaction work that resonated throughout the legal industry this past year.

  • January 16, 2026

    Mich. Justices Let Nationwide's Combined Filing Win Stand

    The Michigan Supreme Court declined Friday to review a lower court's ruling that allowed Nationwide entities to file combined returns and share tax credits among their members, with one justice suggesting the state Legislature should revise the combined filing rules for insurance companies.

  • January 15, 2026

    Litigation Costs, Mental Health Risks Strain Coverage For Jails

    Liability policies for certain county jails aren't being renewed due to their failure to ensure statewide standards and excessive claims, prompting a review of county policies and available funding, experts say.

  • January 15, 2026

    Maduro Removal Raises Insurance Questions Around Oil, War

    The U.S. military operation to remove Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro from power could have significant insurance implications connected to the risk of increased oil trade and questions over whether the operation is viewed as an act of war.

  • January 15, 2026

    Insurer Owes $24.5M For Burn Case, Medical Spa Trustee Says

    A trustee for the bankruptcy estate of a former medical spa owner alleged that Aspen Specialty Insurance Co. breached its duty to defend the woman in litigation over a client's burn injury, forcing her to face a $24.5 million default judgment.

  • January 15, 2026

    Insurance Litigation Week In Review

    The U.S. Supreme Court refused to take up an appeal of the Sixth Circuit’s jurisdictional standard for mixed actions, the Sixth Circuit found no additional coverage for a religious organization’s code compliance costs and a Delaware state court said a biopharmaceutical company has coverage for a shareholder suit. Here, Law360 takes a look at the past week’s top insurance news.

  • January 14, 2026

    Underwriters Fight Early Win Bid For RealPage MDL Coverage

    Certain Underwriters at Lloyd's, London is fighting a landlord's bid for an early win in its suit seeking coverage for multidistrict antitrust litigation against property management software company RealPage Inc. and multiple landlords, arguing that Certain Underwriters' cyber insurance policy for the landlord applies only to data breach claims.

  • January 13, 2026

    Insurer, IT Co. Settle Coverage Claims Suit In Colo.

    An insurance company, an IT company and an investment firm have reached a settlement in the insurer's federal lawsuit in Colorado that alleged it owed no coverage to the IT company, which a jury found liable for making misrepresentations and breaching its cybersecurity agreement with the investment company.

  • January 13, 2026

    Insurer Didn't Owe Defense To Telecom Co. In Merger Row

    An insurer had no duty to defend a telecommunications company sued by a former board member in connection with a 2014 merger, a Wyoming federal court ruled, saying the suit is a single claim under its directors and officers policy and therefore falls under an "insured versus insured" exclusion.

  • January 09, 2026

    Biopharma Co. Secures D&O Coverage For Shareholder Suit

    A biopharmaceutical company is entitled to coverage for a suit alleging its board breached fiduciary duties under a pair of primary and excess directors and officers policies, a Delaware state court ruled, saying the suit is "meaningfully linked" to a previously noticed demand for books and records.

  • January 08, 2026

    Wash. Climate Change Premium Suit A Sign Of More To Come

    A Washington federal court suit accusing oil companies of contributing to increasing homeowners insurance premiums opened up a new consumer-oriented front in a wave of climate change litigation that experts say they only expect to see more of in the coming years.

  • January 08, 2026

    9th Circ. Casino Coverage Ruling Shakes Contract Exclusion

    The Ninth Circuit overturned an AIG unit's win in a coverage dispute with the Las Vegas Sands over an underlying suit alleging the casino failed to pay an agent for his work, challenging the scope of a contract exclusion that is nearly ubiquitous in directors and officers policies, insurance experts say.

  • January 08, 2026

    Insurance Litigation Week In Review

    The Eleventh Circuit affirmed that Nationwide needn't cover a $10 million abuse verdict, a Florida state appeals court reversed a $1 million jury award against an insurance broker and remanded for a new trial, and a New Jersey state court said Margolis Edelstein must face an insurer's malpractice suit.

  • January 08, 2026

    Tariff-Driven Cost Increases Shift Focus To Property Limits

    Construction costs remain high, partly because of tariffs, and questions remain as to the breadth of coverage available under property policies. Law360 spoke to Reed Smith LLP partners Richard P. Lewis and Nicholas M. Insua about their belief that first-party property policies' tariff-related construction cost increases are covered by replacement cost provisions.

  • January 07, 2026

    Firm In 'Maya' Verdict Seeks Coverage For Spinoff Fee Row

    The firm that secured a $213 million award in favor of Maya Kowalski, the person at the center of the Netflix documentary "Take Care of Maya," told a Florida federal court that its professional liability insurer owed coverage for a spinoff suit involving trial consultant fees. 

  • January 05, 2026

    Starr, Collection Co. Reach Deal Over $4.4M Bad Faith Dispute

    Starr Indemnity & Liability Co. struck a deal resolving a collections company's bid for $4.4 million in bad faith damages over underlying litigation concerning a real estate development in Washington state.

  • January 05, 2026

    Payment Co., Insurer End $6.8M Fraud Coverage Dispute

    An electronic payments company and its insurer have ended their dispute over whether the company's roughly $6.8 million loss from two fraud schemes fell within its policy's coverage for computer fraud, with an Iowa federal court agreeing Monday to dismiss the case.

  • January 02, 2026

    Top Property Insurance Trends To Watch In 2026

    Homeowners insurance investigations, a novel climate suit accusing oil majors of contributing to high premiums, and a California action accusing carriers of collusion are some of the top property insurance matters attorneys will be watching this year.

  • January 02, 2026

    Celebrity Rows, D&O Woes Top '26 Specialty Insurance Cases

    From high-profile celebrity coverage battles to high-stakes state supreme court rulings, the new year brings with it the promise of litigation developments that will reshape specialty line insurance policy disputes. Here, Law360 looks at a few of the top specialty line insurance cases to watch in 2026.

  • December 22, 2025

    Nationwide Gets Partial Early Win In 401(k) Class Action

    An Ohio federal judge on Monday granted Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. a quick win on some claims in a class action from employee 401(k) plan participants who alleged mismanagement, but directed the parties to prepare for a bench trial on other claims in the federal benefits lawsuit.

  • December 18, 2025

    Top Property Insurance Decisions Of 2025

    A major U.K. insurance ruling on aircraft stranded and seized by Russia joins a slew of important developments in smoke and fire damage coverage, and the arbitration rights of insurance companies, as some of the top property insurance rulings of 2025. Here, Law360 examines a series of rulings that helped advance property insurance law, from a decision poised to reshape aviation insurance, to circuit court rulings that addressed when insurers can arbitrate claims rather than go through the court system.

  • December 18, 2025

    Insurance Litigation Week In Review

    The Third Circuit revived a highway construction company's bid for coverage of vehicle pileup suits, a New Jersey state appeals court affirmed that a home insurer needn't cover a casino assault dispute, and a California federal court said a Chubb unit doesn't owe coverage for a tech CEO's living expense claim. Here, Law360 takes a look at the past week's top insurance news.

Expert Analysis

  • Cos. Considering DExit Should Assess D&O Insurance Effects

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    As companies consider incorporating in less-regulated states than Delaware, they shouldn't neglect to balance the long-term insurance implications against the short-term benefits of lower taxes and a more permissive legal regime, say attorneys at Pillsbury.

  • Statistics Tools Chart A Path For AI Use In Expert Testimony

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    To avoid the fate of numerous expert witnesses whose testimony was recently deemed inadmissible by courts, experts relying on artificial intelligence and machine learning should learn from statistical tools’ road to judicial acceptance, say directors at Secretariat.

  • 7 D&O Coverage Areas To Assess As DOJ Targets DEI

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    Companies that receive federal funds or have the remnants of a diversity, equity and inclusion program should review their directors and officers liability insurance policies ahead of a major shift in how the U.S. Department of Justice enforces the False Claims Act, says Bill Wagner at Taft.

  • Measuring The Impact Of Attorney Gender On Trial Outcomes

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    Preliminary findings from our recent study on how attorney gender might affect case outcomes support the conclusion that there is little in the way of a clear, universal bias against attorneys of a given gender, say Jill Leibold, Olivia Goodman and Alexa Hiley at IMS Legal Strategies.

  • Oft-Forgotten Evidence Rule Can Be Powerful Trial Tool

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    Rule 608 may be one of the most overlooked provisions in the Federal Rules of Evidence, but as a transformative tool that allows attorneys to attack a witness's character for truthfulness through opinion or reputation testimony, its potential to reshape a case cannot be overstated, says Marian Braccia at Temple University Beasley School of Law.

  • What Disparate Impact Order Means For Insurers' AI Use

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    A recent executive order seeking to bar disparate impact theory conveys a meaningful policy shift, but does not alter the legal status of federal antidiscrimination law or enforceability of state laws, such as those holding insurers accountable for using artificial intelligence in a nondiscriminatory matter, say attorneys at Eversheds Sutherland.

  • 4 Ways To Leverage A Jury's Underdog Perceptions

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    Counsel should consider how common factors that speak to their client's size, power, past challenges and alignment with jurors can be presented to try and paint their client as a sympathetic underdog, says Ken Broda-Bahm at Persuasion Strategies.

  • Why Hiring Former Jurors As Consultants Can Be Risky

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    The defense team's decision to hire former juror Victoria George in the high-profile retrial of Karen Read shines a spotlight on this controversial strategy, which raises important legal, ethical and tactical questions despite not being explicitly prohibited, says Nikoleta Despodova at ND Litigation.

  • How Attys Can Use A Therapy Model To Help Triggered Clients

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    Attorneys can lean on key principles from a psychotherapeutic paradigm known as the "Internal Family Systems" model to help manage triggered clients and get settlement negotiations back on track, says Jennifer Gibbs at Zelle.

  • How Attorneys Can Make The Most Of A Deposition Transcript

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    With recent amendments to federal evidence rules now in effect, it’s more important than ever to make sure that deposition transcripts are clear and precise, and a few key strategies can help attorneys get the most out of a transcript before, during and after a deposition, says Allison Rocker at Baker McKenzie.

  • Atty Insurance Implications Of Rising Nonclient Cyber Claims

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    As law firms are increasingly targeted in cyberattacks, claims by clients as well as nonclients against lawyers are also on the rise, increasing the scope of exposure that attorneys face in their practice, say attorneys at Wilson Elser.

  • Addressing D&O Allocation Questions Amid Shifting Economy

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    As increasing global insolvency this year may lead to an increase in directors and officers insurance claims, businesses should review their policies' allocation provisions to avoid negotiating how coverage will apply to covered and uncovered claims during a suit, say attorneys at Reed Smith.

  • Key Questions When Mediating Environmental Disputes

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    As the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency implements dramatic regulatory changes, companies seeking to use mediation to manage increased risks and uncertainties around environmental liabilities should keep certain essential considerations in mind to help reach successful outcomes, says Edward Cohen at Thompson Coburn.