Specialty Lines
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May 23, 2023
SVB Execs Can Tap D&O Insurance, Bankruptcy Court Says
SVB Financial Group directors and officers can tap into the company's D&O coverage tower to use in various securities class actions and other litigation, a New York bankruptcy court ruled, saying speculative harm against debtor SVB doesn't outweigh the directors' present need for insurance access.
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May 23, 2023
Law Firm Tells 11th Circ. Insurer Must Defend False Ad Row
A Washington, D.C., law firm urged the Eleventh Circuit to reverse its insurer's early win in a dispute over the insurer's refusal to cover underlying false advertising allegations against the firm, telling the court a Florida federal court interpreted its professional liability policy too narrowly.
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May 23, 2023
Title Insurer Wants Out Of 'Abutter's Rights' Dispute
An insurer isn't obliged to ensure that a policyholder had unlimited access to a property beside its covered parcel, the insurer told an Oklahoma federal court, saying the issued title policy offers no "abutter's rights" to the adjacent land.
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May 22, 2023
5th Circ. Agrees Intentional Toxic Dumping Not Covered
The Fifth Circuit backed a federal court's ruling that Crum & Forster Specialty Insurance Co. has no duty to defend an animal feed manufacturer accused of dumping toxic chemicals into a city's sewer system, upholding that no coverage is available because the underlying allegations describe intentional conduct.
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May 22, 2023
Jury Finds Insurer Liable For $7.8M In Oil Well Coverage Spat
A jury in Texas federal court found that a Berkley Insurance Co. unit is liable for roughly $7.8 million in damages in a coverage fight stemming from a 2015 oil well blowout.
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May 22, 2023
Clinic Says Ariz. BCBS Owes Over $14M In Unpaid Claims
An Arizona medical center is suing Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona in federal court, alleging the insurer failed to pay more than $14 million in claims patients made through the clinic and vastly underpaid an additional $550,000 in claims.
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May 22, 2023
Birth Date Is Focus Of Multimillion-Dollar Death Benefits Spat
A wealth and investment management provider can't collect the death benefits under two $5 million life insurance policies, a life insurer told a Delaware federal court, saying the cash surrender value is appropriate because the insured outlived the policies, despite the ages provided on the applications.
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May 22, 2023
State Farm Says Clinics Owe Over $450K For Fraud Scheme
State Farm said 13 Michigan clinics and doctors owe more than $450,000 for a no-fault benefit scheme in which the insurer was billed repeatedly for diagnostic tests that were either not medically necessary or never performed, according to a complaint filed in Michigan federal court.
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May 19, 2023
Firm Gets Partial Atty Fees Win In Loan Fraud Coverage Suit
A law firm scored a partial win when a Florida federal court ruled it could get roughly $65,000 of the nearly $100,000 in attorney fees it requested after prevailing in a coverage fight over a lawsuit involving the firm's approval of two loans taken by fraudsters.
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May 19, 2023
Hospital, Insurer Seek To Settle $3M Fraud Coverage Suit
An Illinois nonprofit hospital system and Great American Insurance Co. asked Friday to be ordered into a settlement conference to potentially resolve a $3 million employee theft coverage dispute before it heads to a jury trial scheduled for September.
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May 19, 2023
Widow Says NY Life's Benefit Payout Suit Must Be Dismissed
New York Life Insurance Co.'s interpleader dispute over the disbursement of a man's $5 million life insurance policy should be tossed, the man's widow said Friday, telling a Tennessee federal court that it does not have jurisdiction over the case.
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May 19, 2023
Insurer Off The Hook For Quiet Title Suit Defense, Judge Says
An insurer for a homeowners association doesn't have to defend it against a quiet title suit brought by a couple seeking ownership of a plot they landscaped for years, a California federal judge said, finding the suit did not seek damages covered under the policy.
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May 19, 2023
Travelers Says No Defense Owed Atty Who Stole From Client
Travelers told a Pennsylvania federal judge on Thursday that the company is unable to provide liability coverage to a law firm and one of its attorneys in a case connected to the lawyer's conviction for stealing over $900,000 from the sale of a client's home during the client's divorce proceedings.
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May 18, 2023
FDIC Seeks $165M From Defunct La. Bank's Ex-CEO, Others
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation filed suit against the convicted former CEO and several former directors of a failed bank in Louisiana federal court, seeking to recover roughly $165 million in losses the FDIC claims the bank suffered at the hands of the defendants.
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May 18, 2023
Commercial Property Insurance Prices Spiking, Brokers Say
Prices for commercial property insurance increased dramatically in the first quarter, largely a consequence of high inflation and significant natural disaster losses, according to a new report from a trade group representing brokers and agents.
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May 18, 2023
Insurers, Health Care Co. Seek More Time For Settlement Talks
An Illinois federal judge granted a 60-day stay to three insurers and Health Care Service Corp. Thursday, giving the parties more time to settle a coverage dispute over legal costs HCSC incurred after several of its executives were accused of pocketing profits in an underlying suit that's been settled.
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May 18, 2023
Mattress Co. Construction Damage No Accident, Insurer Says
A mattress store's insurer asked a Colorado federal judge to find that it didn't act in bad faith when it denied coverage for a cracked slab at the store's warehouse, arguing that the damage doesn't qualify as a covered accident.
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May 18, 2023
Insurer Nixes $10M Under Armor Investigation Costs Claims
Endurance American Insurance Co. agreed Thursday to end its $10 million coverage reimbursement case against Under Armour Inc. related to government investigations of the sportswear maker for potential federal securities law violations.
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May 18, 2023
Couple Say Opening Geico Field Office Led To $1.2M Loss
A couple are accusing Geico of misleading them into an agreement to open a Geico field office franchise, telling a Wisconsin federal court that the insurer's false representations resulted in a more than $1.2 million loss to the couple.
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May 18, 2023
Citrus Grower's Pollution Coverage Suit Dismissed As Unripe
A Florida federal judge on Thursday dismissed an Orlando-area citrus company's complaint seeking coverage for remediation from its insurer, calling the case premature because of unknown damages.
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May 18, 2023
No Coverage For Firm Snared In Fed Probe, 4th Circ. Says
A Maryland law firm and its former partner cannot get professional liability coverage for defense costs spent complying with a federal criminal investigation into a client, the Fourth Circuit ruled Thursday, saying there were no written demands for relief.
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May 18, 2023
Insurer Can't Get $10M Coverage Suit Moved To Tenn.
A Texas federal judge declined to transfer a $10 million insurance dispute brought by a medical staffing company over coverage for an overbilling settlement, holding that the Liberty Mutual unit that sought the transfer failed to show how a Tennessee federal court would be a more convenient setting.
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May 17, 2023
Insurer Gets Partial Win In $10M Egg-Freezing Failure Dispute
One insurer isn't obligated to cover the attorney fees another insurer paid in several hundred underlying lawsuits stemming from a failed cryogenic tank made to freeze human eggs and embryos, a California federal court said.
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May 17, 2023
Geico Dismisses New Jersey Doctor From $1M RICO Suit
Geico agreed to dismiss a New Jersey doctor from its Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act lawsuit alleging a group of health care providers billed the insurer for fraudulent services purportedly provided to people eligible for insurance coverage under no-fault insurance policies.
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May 17, 2023
Tulane Fund Drops Insurer From $19M COVID Coverage Suit
The Tulane University educational fund dropped an insurer Wednesday from its Louisiana federal lawsuit over roughly $19.4 million in pandemic-related losses, which seeks to recover the funds under its policies for medical catastrophe, evacuation and business interruption expenses.
Expert Analysis
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Crypto Coverage After FTX Fall: D&O Liability
The fallout surrounding the recent implosion of cryptocurrency firm FTX highlights potential crypto coverage exposure — including in the area of directors and officers liability — for insurance carriers in the evolving and largely misunderstood world of digital assets, says Anjali Das at Wilson Elser.
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Litigation, Compliance And Enforcement In The 'Crypto Winter'
In 2022, cryptocurrency valuations plummeted, litigation proliferated and the "crypto winter" led to several high-profile bankruptcies, resulting in novel factual and legal questions being raised in areas like general commercial litigation, intellectual property, securities, bankruptcy, cybersecurity and compliance, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.
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The 7th Circ.'s Top 10 Civil Opinions Of 2022
Attorneys at Jenner & Block examine the most significant decisions issued by the Seventh Circuit in 2022, and explain how they may affect issues related to antitrust, the False Claims Act, federal jurisdiction and more.
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Cultivating Good Relationships With Insurance Regulators
Excerpt from Practical Guidance
Insurers can develop mutually beneficial working relationships with insurance regulators by following some simple tips for streamlining communication, knowing how and when to ask for help, and treating regulatory staff with professional courtesy, says Layna Rush at Baker Donelson.
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How Ohio Software Ruling Implicates Crypto Insurance Claims
The Ohio Supreme Court's recent decision in EMOI Services v. Owners Insurance, holding that software can never be physically damaged, has limited precedential value for property claims, but serious implications for cases involving loss or damage to intangible assets like cryptocurrency and non-fungible tokens, say Jane Warring and Shannon O’Malley at Zelle.
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6 Ways To Avoid Compounding Errors When Practicing Law
For lawyers and law firms, inevitable human error can lead to claims of malpractice or ethical violations, but the key is to avoid exacerbating mistakes by adding communication failures, conflicts of interest or insurance coverage losses, says Mark Hinderks at Stinson.
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More Stringent Calif. Claim Law Could Benefit Policyholders
Although a new California statute that imposes additional requirements for policyholder presuit demands — effective Jan. 1 — was ostensibly passed as a bad faith liability shield for insurers, used correctly it may provide a more specific road map for plaintiff recovery, says Shanti Eagle at Farella Braun.
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Sandbagging Issues To Watch In Deal Documents
Attorneys at Kramer Levin explore how transactional practitioners address sandbagging in acquisition agreements, the default rules that courts may apply when deal parties are silent on the issue, and how sandbagging comes up in the context of representation and warranty insurance policies and any related special indemnities in acquisition agreements.
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Ky. Ruling Shows Need For Consistent Insurer Claim Replies
The Kentucky Supreme Court's recent ruling in Ashland Hospital v. Darwin Select Insurance, allowing a hospital to continue seeking coverage for a medical malpractice claim, warns insurers against invoking a prior-notice exclusion to bar coverage after previously rejecting a notice of potential claim as insufficient, say Chet Kronenberg and Lindsay DiMaggio at Simpson Thacher.
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Check This List Twice: 4 Steps To Abate Coverage Concerns
This holiday season give your company the gift of following easy administrative steps to avoid the far-too-common clerical errors that could lead to forfeited insurance coverage, say Vivek Chopra and Mattison Kim at Perkins Coie.
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Lessons On Notice From 7th Circ. Claims-Made Policy Ruling
The Seventh Circuit's recent decision in Hanover Insurance v. R.W. Dunteman contains broad lessons for policyholders — as many claims-made policies include similar aggregation and claims notice provisions as the one at issue — on how to preserve coverage, say Brian Scarbrough and Maura Smyles at Jenner & Block.
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A Recovery Option For Lenders With Planes Stuck In Russia
For aircraft lessors considering insurance coverage litigation to recover for losses of equipment leased to Russian airlines, negotiating an assignment of rights may provide a faster pathway to recovery, say David Klein and Jose Lua-Valencia at Pillsbury.
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Trends And Opportunities In Canada's Insurance M&A Market
Laurie LaPalme and Derek Levinsky at Dentons discuss the results of a survey regarding Canada's insurance mergers and acquisitions market, and their expectations for the next year in this space — including an increased focus on accident and sickness insurance, and technology-focused assets.