Insurance

  • March 08, 2024

    Deadline Drama Briefly Threatens Suit Against Insurer VSP

    A California federal judge threatened Thursday to toss Total Vision's antitrust claims accusing eye care insurance giant VSP of hamstringing it, in what appears to be a misreading of the schedule over missed deadlines that were actually pushed back, prompting the threat's retraction the next day.

  • March 08, 2024

    State Farm Beats Spas' COVID Shutdown Suit At 4th Circ.

    The Fourth Circuit sided with State Farm insurance entities Friday in tossing a coverage dispute brought by a class of spa businesses alleging they were owed under "all risk" policies after COVID shutdown orders, with the court holding that recent precedent determined similar policies dealt with physical damage, not business closings.

  • March 08, 2024

    'It Erases Us': Sex Abuse Survivors Troubled By Wash. Bill

    Washington Gov. Jay Inslee is expected to sign into law a bill that eliminates time limits for bringing child sex abuse claims in the future, but survivors say they are disappointed by an amendment stripping the bill's retroactivity, saying the legislation doesn't go far enough to hold abusers accountable.

  • March 08, 2024

    Exclusion Bars Coverage For Ga. Fair E. Coli Suit

    Nautilus Insurance Co. has no duty to defend or indemnify a harvest fair accused in an underlying state court suit of exposing two children to E. coli, a Georgia federal court has ruled, saying an infectious disease exclusion unambiguously precludes coverage.

  • March 08, 2024

    11th Circ. Declines To Hear Building Defect Coverage Dispute

    It's too early to determine whether a Florida federal court erred in its coverage determinations in a long-running construction defect insurance dispute, the Eleventh Circuit has ruled, finding that the "purported final judgment here does not dispose of all claims against all parties."

  • March 08, 2024

    Trump Staves Off $83M Carroll Award With $91M Chubb Bond

    Chubb has written Donald Trump a $91.6 million bond so the former president can avoid paying writer E. Jean Carroll $83 million while he appeals a Manhattan federal jury's defamation verdict, according to Friday court filings.

  • March 08, 2024

    Coverage Capped At $300K In Crash Suit, 4th Circ. Told

    An insurer urged the Fourth Circuit to uphold a lower court's ruling restricting a couple's underinsured motorist coverage to $300,000 following a wreck, arguing that the policy's language prevails over a North Carolina statute and, as such, its payout is offset by three primary insurers' contributions.

  • March 07, 2024

    5th Circ. Affirms Arbitration In Hurricane Coverage Feud

    The Fifth Circuit has ordered the owner of a New Orleans luxury apartment and retail complex to arbitrate a dispute with its domestic surplus lines insurers over coverage for $7 million in hurricane damage, ruling that arbitration is permitted under a carveout in conflicting Louisiana state law.

  • March 07, 2024

    Insurer, Biz To Face Trial Over $11.8M Wrongful Death Verdict

    A Florida federal judge is sending to trial a coverage dispute between a construction and landscaping company and its insurer over an $11.8 million jury verdict for the wrongful deaths of four women after finding that there are questions of fact regarding whether the insurer acted in bad faith.

  • March 07, 2024

    Mixed Feelings On AI At Cyberinsurance Symposium

    Panelists at the Professional Liability Underwriting Society's cyber symposium in New York City on Tuesday and Wednesday were both excited and scared about generative artificial intelligence, acknowledging that it may be used in more complicated cyberattacks yet curious about the possibility the new market could bring. 

  • March 07, 2024

    Pa. Justices To Consider Liability Of Parents Hiding Son's Gun

    The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania agreed to hear an appeal asking whether the parents of a convicted murderer can be held liable for the victim's family's emotional trauma because their alleged concealment of the murder weapon delayed the discovery of their son's body.

  • March 07, 2024

    Towers Watson Insurers Off Hook For $90M Merger Coverage

    Towers Watson's insurers do not need to cover settlements totaling $90 million in two shareholder suits stemming from the company's merger with Willis, a Virginia federal judge ruled, saying the transaction was barred by a so-called bump-up exclusion.

  • March 07, 2024

    Bradley Arant Adds Insurance Atty From Barnes & Thornburg

    Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP has strengthened its policyholder insurance coverage team by adding a former Barnes & Thornburg LLP partner based in Atlanta and Tampa, Florida, who has recovered more than $500 million for clients over the past three years, the firm announced Wednesday.

  • March 07, 2024

    Feds Look To Bar Advice-Of-Counsel Defense From Tax Trial

    Federal prosecutors have sought to prevent two attorneys and an insurance agent from relying on advice-of-counsel defenses in their upcoming tax fraud trial, telling a North Carolina federal judge the trio failed to give the court an adequate heads-up about their intended defense.

  • March 06, 2024

    6th Circ. Orders Do-Over For Insurer's $3.3M Recoupment Row

    A Sixth Circuit panel on Tuesday revived a Chubb unit's bid to recoup costs from two other insurers after it helped windshield repair company Safelite pay for its defense against a competitor's suit, saying the lower court must conduct an analysis to determine whether the other carriers were prejudiced by late notice.

  • March 06, 2024

    J&J Seeks Exit From Suit Over Stelara Exclusivity

    Johnson & Johnson told a Virginia federal court Tuesday it shouldn't have to face a proposed class action claiming it has been trying to stifle competition in the market for the immunosuppressive drug Stelara, saying there was no "scheme" to enforce its patents as the suit alleges.

  • March 06, 2024

    Co. Says Chubb Unit Must Cover $5M Merger Dispute Defense

    A holding company subsidiary of Banco Santander told a Delaware federal court that a Chubb unit must contribute to $5 million in legal expenses the company has incurred in defending itself in an underlying class action brought by minority shareholders who objected to a merger with another subsidiary.

  • March 06, 2024

    Fla. Judge Relieves Insurer Of $1M Construction Defect Row

    An insurer has no obligation to defend or indemnify a general contractor or subcontractor in an over $1 million faulty construction dispute, a Florida federal judge ruled, finding that the subcontractor's policies contained an unambiguous "residential construction" exclusion that clearly barred coverage.

  • March 06, 2024

    Insurer Says Mountaineer's Death Not 'Accidental'

    Reliance Standard Life Insurance Co. asked the Eleventh Circuit on Wednesday to reverse a decision saying it has to pay out an accidental death benefit to the family of a Harvard medical professor who died trying to summit a mountain in Pakistan, arguing that there isn't enough evidence to show that his death was an accident.

  • March 06, 2024

    Connecticut Marshals Union Pushes For Lower Job Cap

    Connecticut law authorizes the appointment of far more state marshals than necessary, the workers' union told state lawmakers Wednesday, in support of a new bill that would lower the cap and give job candidates incentive to choose the marshals service as a career.

  • March 06, 2024

    Quinn Emanuel's 2nd $185M Fee Bid Blasted As 'Indefensible'

    Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP's second attempt to win $185 million in attorney fees in $3.7 billion litigation over the Affordable Care Act still fails to justify the "indefensible" amount and barely pays "lip service" to a reevaluation ordered by the Federal Circuit, health insurers told the federal claims court.

  • March 06, 2024

    Power Co. Can't Escape Explosion Fraud Claim

    An infrastructure supply company can't toss a fraud claim brought by an industrial company's insurers in a suit seeking to recoup $18.7 million in damages for a manufacturing facility explosion, an Ohio federal court ruled, finding that the carriers can bring both a breach of contract claim and a fraud claim.

  • March 05, 2024

    Gibson Dunn AI Leader On Weathering The AI Policy Blizzard

    Like a mountaineer leading a team through a snowstorm, Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP's artificial intelligence co-chair Cassandra L. Gaedt-Sheckter is guiding companies developing and using artificial intelligence through a blizzard of new laws and regulations coming online in Europe and the U.S., saying that assessing AI risks is the North Star to mitigating them.

  • March 05, 2024

    Allstate Must Face Former In-House Atty's Disability Bias Suit

    A New York federal judge rejected Allstate's bid for a pretrial win in a disability discrimination case brought by a former in-house lawyer who claims he was wrongfully fired after his doctor said he couldn't handle the stress of trials, including standing for long periods of time.

  • March 05, 2024

    FTC Chair Decries PE's Healthcare Impacts As Probe Starts

    Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan on Tuesday lamented what she deemed the "financialization" of healthcare resulting from private equity buyouts, in remarks coinciding with the launch of a multijurisdictional request for public comment on PE and other companies' growing control over the healthcare system.

Expert Analysis

  • To Survive Scrutiny, Banks Should Craft Careful D&O Policies

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    With banks and their boards facing intensified — and potentially costly — scrutiny after this spring’s bank failures, risk managers can prepare for potential shareholder demands, lawsuits or regulatory probes by designing a robust and targeted directors and officers coverage program, say Jose Lua-Valencia and Jesse Vazquez at Pillsbury.

  • Insurance Insights From 5th Circ. Blue Bell Coverage Ruling

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    The Fifth Circuit's recent ruling that denied Blue Bell insurance coverage for the defense costs incurred from a shareholder lawsuit underscores the importance of coordination of different coverages and policies across programs, and the potential perils of seeking recovery for losses under nontraditional policies, say Geoffrey Fehling and Casey Coffey at Hunton.

  • Courts Can Overturn Deficient State Regulations, Too

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    While suits challenging federal regulations have become commonplace, such cases against state agencies are virtually nonexistent, but many states have provisions that allow litigants to bring suit for regulations with inadequate cost-benefit analyses, says Reeve Bull at the Virginia Office of Regulatory Management.

  • BIPA, Meta Pixel Suits Could Reshape Cybersecurity Litigation

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    Businesses and attorneys should watch several pending electronic privacy cases that revolve around disclosure of protected personal information and health data, which may shape how courts handle damages and class actions in the future of cybersecurity litigation, say Kelly Johnson and Melanie Condon at Goldberg Segalla.

  • Tales From The Trenches Of Remote Depositions

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    As practitioners continue to conduct depositions remotely in the post-pandemic world, these virtual environments are rife with opportunities for improper behavior such as witness coaching, scripted testimony and a general lack of civility — but there are methods to prevent and combat these behaviors, say Jennifer Gibbs and Bennett Moss at Zelle.

  • The Legal Issues Flying Around The Evolving Drone Market

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    As the number of drone registrations is expected to more than double over the next three years, the industry faces new risks and considerations related to privacy, Fourth Amendment, criminal, evidentiary, First Amendment, and insurance litigation, say attorneys at Covington.

  • Insurance Coverage For ChatGPT Legal Fiasco: A Hypothetical

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    William Passannante at Anderson Kill draws on the recent case of an attorney sanctioned by the Southern District of New York for submitting a ChatGPT-authored brief to discuss what the insurance coverage for the attorney's hypothetical claim might look like.

  • Insurance Implications Of High Court Affirmative Action Ruling

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling striking down affirmative action admissions policies at Harvard University and the University of North Carolina will likely result in more litigation related to hiring practices, with implications for insurance coverage, meaning policyholders must remain wary of exclusions and other potential roadblocks, say attorneys at Pillsbury.

  • Legal Considerations For Calif. Rental Vehicle Data Collection

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    The legal implications under California’s Rental Passenger Vehicle Transactions Law must be thoroughly understood and navigated carefully, and rental companies operating in the state should consider some key factors before installing tracking devices in their vehicles, says Hannah Ji-Otto at Baker Donelson.

  • Level Up Lawyers' Business Development With Gamification

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    With employee engagement at a 10-year low in the U.S., there are several gamification techniques marketing and business development teams at law firms can use to make generating new clients and matters more appealing to lawyers, says Heather McCullough at Society 54.

  • Mallory Ruling Leaves Personal Jurisdiction Deeply Unsettled

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    In Mallory v. Norfolk Southern Railway, a closely divided U.S. Supreme Court recently rolled back key aspects of its 2017 opinion in Daimler AG v. Bauman that limited personal jurisdiction, leaving as many questions for businesses as it answers, say John Cerreta and James Rotondo at Day Pitney.

  • What The ESG Divide Means For Insurers And Beyond

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    The debate around ESG is becoming increasingly polarized, with some states passing legislation that prohibits the use of ESG factors and others advancing affirmative legislation, highlighting the importance for insurers and other companies to understand this complex legal landscape, say Scott Seaman and Bessie Daschbach at Hinshaw.

  • Consider Self-Help To Trigger Additional-Insured Status

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    A New Jersey federal court recently affirmed that owners and contractors can use self-help by filing third-party claims for indemnification against subcontractors, triggering coverage from a subcontractor's insurance by asserting that an employee's injuries resulted from the subcontractor's fault or the employee's own negligence, say Allen Wolff and Ethan Middlebrooks at Anderson Kill.

  • 5 Ways Firms Can Rethink Office Design In A Hybrid World

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    As workplaces across the country adapt to flexible work, law firms must prioritize individuality, amenities and technology in office design, says Kristin Cerutti at Nelson Worldwide.

  • Top 5 Privacy Cases To Watch, From Chatbots To Geolocation

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    Litigation related to privacy law violations has been on the rise recently, and while some judges have pushed back on the novel theories set forth by plaintiffs, new privacy cases are launched almost every day, including notable ones on topics ranging from chatbots to geolocation, say Sushila Chanana and Rodolfo Rivera Aquino at Farella Braun.

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