Specialty Lines
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January 24, 2024
Accused Fraudster Hurting Policyholders, NC Justices Told
Four insurers told the North Carolina Supreme Court that a former insurance mogul facing criminal fraud charges is still running his businesses, contrary to a contract and lower court order, renewing their request for clarity on what parts of an appellate court's opinion the high court will review.
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January 24, 2024
Insurer Can't Duck $2M Nursing Home Judgment, Family Argues
The insurer of a now-bankrupt Georgia nursing home can't escape its obligations to cover a $2.1 million default judgment won by the family of a woman who died in the home's care, the family has told a federal judge.
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January 23, 2024
Oil Co. Says Power Co. Owes $11M For Injury Defense
An oil and gas company seeking up to $11 million in coverage from a power company for an underlying electic shock injury suit told a Wyoming federal court that the power company should've made it an additional insured on its policies, per the companies' agreement.
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January 23, 2024
College Wants 9th Circ. Opinion In $1.5M Fraud Coverage Spat
A for-profit college that settled with the U.S. government after being accused of stealing money meant to fund veterans' education asked the Ninth Circuit to weigh in after a California federal court said its insurer didn't have to cover nearly $1.5 million in connected investigation defense costs.
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January 23, 2024
Berkshire Unit Seeks Partial Win In Senior Center Liability Suit
A Berkshire unit is seeking a partial win against a senior care center over an underlying wrongful death suit, telling an Illinois federal court that it cannot be expected to defend the center when a self-insured retention has not been satisfied.
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January 23, 2024
Progressive Customers Fire Back At Proposed Dismissal
Progressive customers in a consolidated proposed class action surrounding the exposure of nearly 350,000 users' personal data to unauthorized actors urged an Ohio federal judge to reject the insurer's dismissal bid, arguing in part that the motion couldn't get around Progressive's own admission to the leak of information.
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January 23, 2024
Candy Maker Wants $5M Recall Coverage Suit Tossed
A Texas-based candy company urged a New York federal court to either toss an insurer's lawsuit seeking to avoid coverage for a nearly $5 million recall over metal fragments found in certain gummy candies or transfer the case to Texas, where the company sued its insurer.
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January 22, 2024
Insurer Can Proceed With $1.7M Settlement Contribution Suit
Viad Corp. can't escape an insurer's suit seeking to recover $1.7 million of a nearly $160 million settlement with the state of Montana, a Nebraska federal court ruled Monday, finding the insurer plausibly alleged that the company could be liable under a reinsurance contract.
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January 22, 2024
Insurer Says Dive Shop Not Covered For Boat Propeller Injury
Dan Risk Retention Group Inc. has asked a Florida federal court to declare that it does not have to defend a scuba dive operator in a suit filed by a diver whose arm was injured by a boat propeller during a dive.
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January 22, 2024
No Coverage For Facility Under Canceled Policy, Insurer Says
An insurer told an Oklahoma federal court that an assisted living facility is not owed coverage for a suit over a resident's fall, saying the facility's commercial multiperil policy was canceled for nonpayment days before the underlying suit was filed.
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January 22, 2024
Southwest's 5th Circ. Win Broadens Scope Of Cyber Coverage
Policyholders and Southwest Airlines alike notched an important win when a Fifth Circuit panel undid a ruling barring excess cyber insurance coverage for costs stemming from the airline's 2016 computer network failure, potentially expanding the scope of cyber coverage.
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January 22, 2024
Oil Services Co. Seeks Refinery Pollution Coverage
A Chapter 11 liquidating trustee for the estate of a company that stored and refined crude oil in the U.S. Virgin Islands has sued the firm's pollution liability insurers in Texas bankruptcy court, requesting millions of dollars in coverage for putative class actions accusing the debtor of causing pollution damage.
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January 22, 2024
Lockton Can Proceed With Poaching Suit Against Rival
A Missouri federal court has kept alive insurance brokerage Lockton's lawsuit accusing its former higher-ups of conspiring with California-based competitor Alliant in a poaching scheme, saying the competitor cannot escape a forum-selection clause that was in the former elites' contracts.
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January 22, 2024
Smucker's, Insurer Want $8M For Fire Smoldering Nut Sparked
Smucker's and its insurer are seeking to recoup $8 million for fire damages at a peanut butter factory, saying a refrigerator repair technician's mistake led to an evacuation that left no personnel there to extinguish the fire, according to a suit removed Friday to Kentucky federal court.
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January 22, 2024
Condo To Tell 6th Circ. Insurer Must Cover Resident Suits
A Detroit condominium association said it will urge the Sixth Circuit to reverse a Michigan federal court's ruling that its insurer does not owe it coverage for underlying suits over damaged fences, defamation and legal fees.
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January 19, 2024
Law360 Names Firms Of The Year
Eight law firms have earned spots as Law360's Firms of the Year, with 55 Practice Group of the Year awards among them, steering some of the largest deals of 2023 and securing high-profile litigation wins, including at the U.S. Supreme Court.
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January 19, 2024
Law360 Names Practice Groups Of The Year
Law360 would like to congratulate the winners of its Practice Groups of the Year awards for 2023, which honor the attorney teams behind litigation wins and major deals that resonated throughout the legal industry this past year.
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January 19, 2024
Insurer Says Colo. Policy Spat 'Intertwined' With Atty Blunders
The primary insurer for a Colorado climbing gear company said an excess insurer's bid to get out of liability for a climber's injuries should be heard in a Washington state malpractice suit, arguing in a motion that the policy dispute is "intertwined" with lawyer misconduct in the underlying product liability case.
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January 19, 2024
Club Shooting Victim Seeks Toss Of Insurer's Coverage Fight
The victim of a 2019 shooting at a South Carolina nightclub urged a federal court Friday to toss a suit brought by the club's insurer over coverage for an $18.1 million default judgment, saying any ruling regarding the carrier's coverage obligations under the policy is moot.
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January 19, 2024
Insurance Mogul Fights Spending Clampdown In $524M Fight
Embattled insurance mogul Greg Lindberg has pressed a North Carolina federal court to scrap a bid by an insurer, which won a $524 million judgment against him, to stop him from spending his money, arguing that the insurer had the same financial restriction overturned in a state court.
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January 19, 2024
Proposed $350B Federal Reinsurance Program Draws Scrutiny
A proposed national reinsurance program lacks important details for legislation that would dramatically change the federal government's role in insurance markets, experts said, while offering competing ideas about whether such a program is needed at all.
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January 19, 2024
Md. Atty Seeks En Banc Review By 4th Circ. On Defense Costs
A Maryland attorney asked the Fourth Circuit to reconsider a panel's decision saying he is not entitled to defense costs from his firm's insurer after being indicted on allegations he seized $13 million in Somalian government funds, arguing the decision undermines "the very purpose" of professional liability insurance.
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January 19, 2024
Insurer Resolves Damaged Goods Coverage Row Out Of Court
An insurer abandoned its request in New York federal court for a second shot at freeing itself from defending a warehouse over a stored merchandise dispute, instead resolving the issue outside of court and stipulating the case's dismissal after months of delays.
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January 19, 2024
Progressive Hit With $5M Data Breach Class Action
Progressive Casualty Insurance Co. was hit with a data breach class action in South Carolina federal court accusing the insurer of leaving customers' personal information vulnerable to hackers and risking them more than $5 million in damages.
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January 18, 2024
Title Co. Says It's Owed Defense In $700K Wire Mishap Suit
A title company told a Florida federal court that Nationwide unit Scottsdale Indemnity Co. wrongfully refused to cover its defense in a suit over nearly $700,000 in property sale proceeds the company is accused of wiring to a third party instead of the seller.
Expert Analysis
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Bankruptcy Case May Help Define Surety Executory Contract
Next week’s Fifth Circuit oral argument in Argonaut Insurance v. Falcon V is of great interest to the surety industry as this case presents an opportunity for the court to address several unsettled questions on whether a tripartite arrangement, such as a surety bond program, is an executory contract for bankruptcy purposes, say Lisa Tancredi at Womble Bond and Laura Murphy at Travelers.
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Assessing NFT Insurance Coverage Options And Gaps
Because non-fungible tokens do not come bundled with insurance policies, and until NFT-specific insurance policies become more common, NFT owners should proactively protect against risk by drawing upon existing frameworks, despite potential coverage gaps, say Brian Scarbrough and Edward Crouse at Jenner & Block.
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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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How Boards Can Address Insurance-Based Caremark Risk
Recent bankruptcy proceedings, such as Purdue Pharma's, highlight that insurance is critical to ensuring an organization's solvency and ability to pay claimants, making it important for boards to prioritize adequate insurance and risk-management as core Caremark responsibilities, say attorneys at Cooley.
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4th Circ.'s Allen Trust Opinion: A New Class Action Primer
The Fourth Circuit's recent opinion in Allen Trust v. Banner Life Insurance is likely to become an oft-cited instruction manual for Rule 23(b)(3) class action certification and settlement in the circuit, because of how it effectively addresses the three major issues that dominate class action litigation, say David Anthony and Justin Golart at Troutman Pepper.
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What Microcaptive Reporting Ruling May Mean For The IRS
In CIC v. Internal Revenue Service, a Tennessee federal court’s decision to set aside an IRS requirement to disclose microcaptive insurance arrangements may be a step toward evidentiary standards to show that the potential for abuse in a lawful transaction is sufficient to support heightened disclosure requirements, says Samuel Lauricia at Weston Hurd.
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7 Policy Terms Defensive IP Coverage Buyers Should Note
To maximize defensive intellectual property insurance — coverage that will defend and indemnify the insured against suits alleging infringement — the technology startups driving the post-pandemic economic recovery should be focusing on specific terms within the manuscripted policies, says Micah Skidmore at Haynes and Boone.
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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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Preparing For New Mandatory Cyber Reporting Rules
The requirements of a new federal law mandating cyber incident reporting for critical infrastructure will not become operational for several months, but affected companies should begin assessing whether their response plans incorporate critical policies and procedures to ensure compliance, say Steven Stransky at Thompson Hine and Lacy Rex at Oswald Companies.