Specialty Lines

  • January 18, 2024

    Contempt Looms For Husband In IP Fight Over Insurance Co.

    The North Carolina Business Court has demanded that the husband of an insurance agency owner return her business assets as required by a previous order or face civil contempt proceedings as part of an intellectual property lawsuit embroiling the couple.

  • January 18, 2024

    Realty Co. Seeks $8.2M For Failed Merger Defense Costs

    A Hartford unit owes over $8.2 million in damages stemming from a merger gone awry between its insured and real estate giant Simon Property Group, the insured said in a complaint removed Thursday to a Delaware federal court, maintaining that it properly exhausted all other limits of coverage.

  • January 18, 2024

    Insurers, Flooring Co. Notch Partial Win Over Gym Fire Suit

    A high school that accused a flooring company of causing a gym fire cannot seek damages related to gym improvements, higher insurance costs and mental anguish, a Louisiana federal court ruled, stopping short of deciding whether the school retains standing to sue the company or the company's insurers to begin with.

  • January 18, 2024

    Burger King Franchisee Says It's Owed Defense For BIPA Suit

    A Burger King franchisee said its umbrella insurance carrier owes coverage for a class action accusing the franchisee of violating Illinois' Biometric Information Privacy Act, telling a federal court that the insurer has ignored it since receiving notice of the underlying action.

  • January 17, 2024

    Wash. Law Firm Says Travelers Must Cover Employee Theft

    Seattle law firm Karr Tuttle Campbell has sued Travelers Indemnity Company of Connecticut in Washington federal court, accusing the insurer of violating the state's consumer protection law by denying coverage after a former firm employee allegedly made $136,000 in unauthorized charges on a credit card.

  • January 17, 2024

    Insurer Owes $900K In Coverage For Mold Cleanup, Court Told

    A contractor told a North Carolina federal court that its insurer wrongly denied coverage for nearly $900,000 in mold remediation expenses it incurred on a building project, asserting that the insurer conflated its standalone environmental legal liability policy with a different policy.

  • January 17, 2024

    1.3M Loan Holders Hit By Cyberattack, Revised Action Says

    A data breach class action claim against Fidelity National Financial and LoanCare LLC was revised on Wednesday after a Florida federal judge found that the original seven-count complaint, filed in late December, constituted an impermissible “shotgun pleading."

  • January 17, 2024

    Feds Ask Justices For Narrow Ruling In NRA Case

    The federal government filed an amicus brief in a First Amendment dispute between the National Rifle Association and a former New York state official, urging Supreme Court justices to reject some of the gun rights group's broader arguments because they raise "harder questions."

  • January 17, 2024

    No Coverage For HOA In Trade Secret Theft Suit, Court Told

    An Illinois homeowners association and its property managers are not entitled to coverage for an underlying action brought by the development's golf course operator accusing the association of downloading proprietary information, an insurer told a federal court, saying the incident doesn't meet the policy's definition of an occurrence.

  • January 17, 2024

    No Coverage For New York Ghost Gun Suits, AIG Unit Says

    An AIG unit told a New York federal court it should have no duty to cover a firearm retailer in three lawsuits by the state attorney general and municipalities alleging that the retailer knowingly sold unfinished components that would be assembled into so-called ghost guns.

  • January 16, 2024

    5th Circ. Revives Southwest Airlines' Cyber Coverage Suit

    The Fifth Circuit on Tuesday revived Southwest Airlines' coverage fight against Liberty Insurance over costs stemming from a 2016 computer network failure, saying the district court was wrong in finding that the costs fall outside the coverage range of an excess cyber risk insurance policy.

  • January 16, 2024

    Sports Co. Wants Coverage Apart From CEO Accused Of Rape

    A sports equipment company asked a Washington federal judge Tuesday not to conflate it with its CEO when determining whether to allow an insurer to escape defending the leader and his company against underlying sexual assault allegations.

  • January 16, 2024

    Insurance Adjuster Says Ex-Employees Stole Clients, Intel

    An insurance adjuster accused five ex-employees of colluding with a competitor to steal the company's clients, telling a Mississippi federal court that the employees breached their agreements with the company — including noncompetes — to benefit the competitor.

  • January 16, 2024

    Cement Co. Rips Insurer Bid To Slip Demurrage Fee Coverage

    A Houston-based cement supply company challenged Liberty Mutual's attempt to avoid paying coverage for more than $780,000 in demurrage charges incurred during cleanup of a shipping mishap, telling a Louisiana federal court the charges are a proper expense under a so-called sue and labor clause.

  • January 16, 2024

    Coverage Case Over Defective Miami Highway Heads To Trial

    A joint venture tasked with a Miami bridge and highway project will have its day in court against an insurer that refused to cover more than $3.6 million in construction defects, a Florida federal court found.

  • January 16, 2024

    Insurer Drops Suit Against Nonresponsive, Defunct Co.

    An insurer dropped its 2-month-old coverage lawsuit against a defunct Houston-based engineering firm for asbestos exposure-related claims, saying the company neither appeared nor asserted any counterclaims.

  • January 12, 2024

    Cyberattack On Insurer Compromised Over 64K, Suit Says

    The private information of over 64,000 individuals was compromised in a data breach of a construction industry insurer, according to a proposed class action filed against the company in North Carolina federal court.

  • January 12, 2024

    AIG Unit Says No Coverage Left For Helicopter Crash Suit

    An AIG unit told an Alaska federal court that it owes no defense to a mountain resort or its owners for claims brought by the surviving passenger of a heli-skiing crash, saying it already settled with the plaintiff for any coverage it could provide.

  • January 12, 2024

    Insurer Disclaims Institutional Furniture Makers' Patent Spat

    Companies accused in underlying litigation of stealing designs from a patent holder and falsely advertising molded plastic furnishings meant for use in prisons and psychiatric facilities shouldn't have defense coverage against the allegations, an insurer told an Illinois federal judge Friday.

  • January 12, 2024

    Axis Loses Reconsideration Bid In Prior Knowledge Dispute

    Axis Insurance Co. must continue to face a cashless payment company's breach of contract claim that is slated for a jury in its suit seeking excess coverage for underlying securities actions, a Pennsylvania federal judge ruled, saying a dispute remains over what the company knew when it entered into the policy.

  • January 12, 2024

    Insurer Seeks To Toss Challenge To Bombing Coverage Award

    A Nashville, Tennessee, property owner can't proceed with an amended suit claiming an umpire's bias invalidates an appraisal award in a coverage dispute over damage caused by a Christmas Day bombing in 2020, a Zurich unit told a federal court, saying the company failed to state a claim for relief.

  • January 11, 2024

    Electronic Waveform Says Travelers Owes It $1.3M

    A Minnesota medical device manufacturer has told a federal court that insurer Travelers has been intentionally down-coding a pain management device popular among professional athletes in order to underpay the company, resulting in a loss of $1.3 million.

  • January 11, 2024

    House Bill Would Create National Reinsurance Program

    The U.S. Department of the Treasury would administer a new national reinsurance program under a $350 billion proposal that would also provide grants for risk-mitigation activities and cash payments for low-income consumers.

  • January 11, 2024

    Agency Tells 9th Circ. To Ax Insurer Win In Poaching Suit Row

    A talent agency's fight with Markel over coverage of claims that the agency poached a competitor's agents and clients has returned to the Ninth Circuit, with the agency asking the appeals court to overturn a lower court's second ruling in favor of the insurer.

  • January 11, 2024

    Insurer Says Resident's Rape In Memory Ward Not Covered

    A dementia facility accused of covering up a rape of a resident by another patient shouldn't have defense coverage against an underlying suit brought by the resident and her family, its insurer told an Alaska federal judge.

Expert Analysis

  • Insurance Ruling Provides Lessons On Cyberattack 'Twofers'

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    A recent Minnesota federal court decision, SJ Computers v. Travelers, illustrates how an insurance policy with separate limits for computer fraud and social engineering fraud applies to a cyberattack with both components, say Joshua Polster and Laurel Fresquez at Simpson Thacher.

  • D&O Insurer Challenges Amid Market, Economic Turbulence

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    The decline of record market capitalizations, compounded by high litigation and securities class action exposure, leaves directors and officers insurance carriers and issuers facing economic contraction as companies grapple with the institutionalization of environmental, social and governance investment priorities amid a new Cold War, say Nessim Mezrahi and Stephen Sigrist at SAR.

  • Risk Mitigation In Face Of Rising Legal Malpractice Claims

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    As the recent rise in frequency and cost of legal malpractice claims is expected to continue amid global high inflation and economic uncertainty, law firms and insurers would be wise to evaluate key risk areas and consider six steps to minimize exposure, say Nicole Shapiro and Cory Stumpf at Atheria Law.

  • 2 Illinois Cases Poised To Shape BIPA Litigation Landscape

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    The Illinois Supreme Court's anticipated rulings in Tims v. Black Horse and Cothron v. White Castle could alter the outlook for Biometric Information Privacy Act litigation, putting an end to companies' and insurers' willingness to pour money into expensive settlements, say Pamela Signorello and Megan Brown at Wiley.

  • What Del. Officer Exculpation Law Means For D&O Insurance

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    Following a recent Delaware code amendment to allow corporate exculpation of officers, businesses considering whether to update their articles of incorporation accordingly should factor in the potential benefits respecting the availability and cost of directors and officers insurance, say Bryan Coffey and Peter Gillon at Pillsbury.

  • 7th Circ. 'Reasonable Costs' Ruling Is A Win For Policyholders

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    The Seventh Circuit's decision in USA Gymnastics v. Liberty Insurance last month establishes useful precedent for policyholders, affirming and expanding on its rule that defense costs are presumed to be reasonable and necessary when insurers breach their duty to defend, say attorneys at Reed Smith.

  • Insurance Implications For Aircraft Grounded In Russia

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    Russia's invasion of Ukraine and new law that allows the government to ground planes leased from foreign companies threatens massive losses for insurers in the aviation insurance market and necessitates a closer look at which policy exclusions may apply, say attorneys at Hinshaw.

  • What Snap Removal Debate Means For Insurance Disputes

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    A potential circuit split regarding the permissibility of snap removal to federal court, which allows defendants to circumvent the forum defendant rule, is particularly a concern in insurance cases due to the difficulty of removing such cases, and the perception that some state courts are more favorable to policyholders, says Greg Mann at Rivkin Radler.

  • How D&O Insurers Can Limit Bankruptcy Exclusion Risks

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    Amid challenging economic conditions, directors and officers underwriters can't always rely on insolvency exclusions to protect against insured's bankruptcy claims, but there are ways to limit risk exposure, like by adding creditor exclusions or sublimiting coverage, say Kristine Christ at Crum & Forster, and Scott Schechter and Joshua DiLena at Kaufman Borgeest.

  • Questions Remain On Computer Fraud Coverage For Phishing

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    There are questions regarding the applicability of computer fraud coverage to phishing scheme losses in the wake of the Ninth Circuit's decision in Ernst & Haas v. Hiscox earlier this year, with a backdrop of differing case results and evolving fact patterns over the past few years, say Robert Callahan and Melissa D’Alelio at Robins Kaplan.

  • Insurers Must Be Vigilant About Cannabis Lounge Risks

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    Because cannabis lounges face a number of unique risks, such as overserving cannabis to patrons, insurers and risk management providers must be able to recognize and properly address the full range of potential liabilities, say Jonathan Isaacson and Adam Nicolazzo at Kaufman Dolowich.

  • Insurers Should Beware Risks From Digital Asset Losses

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    Personal lines insurers should not underestimate the potential severity of future exposure to digital asset loss claims, and should consider protecting themselves with new underwriting practices and policy exclusions, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • State Ransomware Payment Laws Raise Insurance Questions

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    Recent Florida and North Carolina statutory prohibitions on government agencies' ransomware payments will not just affect public entities' response to ransomware incidents, but also require consideration from insurers whose policies may cover ransom payments, say Ted Brown and Mallory Meaney at Wiley.