Insurance

THURSDAY, MAY 23, 2024

TOP NEWS

Ill. Justices Weigh Zurich's Right To Recover $3M Flood Loss

By Jennifer Mandato

The Illinois Supreme Court weighed Wednesday whether Zurich American Insurance Co. can recoup $3 million from a subcontractor for water damage repair costs the insurer paid to a general contractor despite Zurich filing suit on behalf of a different insured.

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Fla. Judge Won't Pause Russian Planes Coverage Suit

By Carolina Bolado

A Florida judge on Wednesday refused to pause an aircraft leasing company's coverage suit for $700 million worth of airplanes reappropriated by Russian airlines after the Ukraine war began, denying a request by some of the company's insurers to wait until litigation in the U.K. is resolved.

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Calif. Justices Debate Time To Sue To Change Insurer's Practices

By Bonnie Eslinger

A California state attorney urged the California Supreme Court on Thursday to revive a policyholder's Unfair Competition Law claim against State Farm, saying the law's four-year statute of limitation applies over an insurance law's one-year period because the policyholder is seeking a change to its claim-handling practices, not damages.

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LITIGATION

3M Says Insurers Are Dodging Coverage Of $6B Earplug Deal

By Hope Patti

3M and its subsidiary Aearo Technologies have reported difficulties getting their insurers to pay out more than $1.5 billion in coverage after the companies reached a $6 billion deal to settle multidistrict litigation alleging their combat earplugs failed to protect the hearing of service members and veterans.

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Insurer Denied Win In Leaky Window Coverage Dispute

By Hope Patti

A Kansas federal court refused to rule that an insurer has no duty to defend or indemnify its policyholder in a defective window installation dispute with a county board of commissioners, saying granting the insurer's request would impact the board's rights as a third-party beneficiary.

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Insurance Co. Says Ex-Underwriter 'Lured' Away Colleagues

By Hayley Fowler

An insurance brokerage and its affiliate have accused a former high-ranking company official of decamping for a competitor and encouraging colleagues to follow suit, according to a complaint designated Wednesday to North Carolina Business Court.

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Conn. Judge Doubts Restaurant's Insurance Beef Is Stale

By Brian Steele

Connecticut's chief intermediate appellate court judge appeared skeptical Wednesday of Liberty Mutual Insurance Co.'s position that a restaurant is barred from suing over the denial of coverage for a worker's hand injury, suggesting that previous litigation over the worker's compensation policy has no bearing on the current suit.

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Seattle Sues Train Cos. Over Bike Track-Crossing Suits

By Greg Lamm

The city of Seattle says two short-line railroads have breached agreements to maintain liability insurance and indemnify the city in lawsuits from cyclists injured crossing tracks along a perilous stretch of a popular bike trail, according to a complaint filed in Washington state court.

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DEALS

Skadden, Latham Lead Specialty Insurer's Upsized $128M IPO

By Tom Zanki

Private equity-backed insurer Bowhead Specialty Holdings Inc. on Wednesday priced an upsized $128 million initial public offering above its planned price range, represented by Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP and underwriters' counsel Latham & Watkin LLP, marking the first sizable insurance IPO of 2024.

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EXPERT ANALYSIS

Series

Being An EMT Makes Me A Better Lawyer

While some of my experiences as an emergency medical technician have been unusually painful and searing, the skills I’ve learned — such as triage, empathy and preparedness — are just as useful in my work as a restructuring lawyer, says Marshall Huebner at Davis Polk.

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LEGAL INDUSTRY

Law360 Names Attys Who Moved Up The Firm Ranks In Q1

A promotion to partner or election to practice group chair means a slew of new responsibilities and also lots of well-deserved recognition. Law360 reveals the list of attorneys whose commitment to legal excellence earned them highly coveted spots in the law firm leadership ranks. Find out if your old legal friends — or rivals — moved up in the fourth quarter of last year.

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200th Lifetime Judge Confirmed Under Biden

By Courtney Bublé

The U.S. Senate voted 66-28 on Wednesday to confirm U.S. Magistrate Judge Angela M. Martinez as U.S. district judge in the District of Arizona, marking the 200th lifetime federal judicial confirmation under President Joe Biden.

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NY Judicial Nominee Defends Record Amid GOP Criticism

By Courtney Bublé

A judicial nominee for a New York federal court stood by her ruling allowing an inmate convicted of sex offenses to transfer from a male to female prison, amid concerns from Republicans that led to some dramatics Wednesday in a congressional hearing room.

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'Appeal To Heaven' Flag Flew At Alito's Vacation Home: Report

By Hailey Konnath

Democratic lawmakers on Wednesday called for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito to immediately recuse himself from cases related to the 2020 election and face censure after The New York Times reported that flags tied to Donald Trump supporters had flown outside two homes owned by the justice in 2021 and again last year.

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Analysis

Justices' CFPB Alliance May Save SEC Courts, Not Chevron

By Katie Buehler

A four-justice concurrence to the U.S. Supreme Court's decision upholding the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's unique funding scheme last week carries implications for other cases pending before the court that challenge the so-called administrative state, or the permanent cadre of regulatory agencies and career government enforcers who hold sway over vast swaths of American economic life.

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DA Willis, Trump Judge, And Justice All Roll To Victory In Ga.

By Chart Riggall

The judge and district attorney at the center of former President Donald Trump's Georgia prosecution easily fended off their electoral challengers Tuesday night, while an abortion-rights candidate for the Peach State's highest court fell well short of the mark.

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Feature

Spencer Fane Lures In Big-Name 'Misfits' For Patent Group

By Dani Kass

Spencer Fane LLP has spent the past two years building up what it hopes to be a top-tier intellectual property group, pulling together a "band of misfits" from firms like Fish & Richardson PC and McKool Smith, according to the group's co-leader.

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NY Federal Reserve Associate GC Rejoins Covington

By Jack Rodgers

A former Covington & Burling LLP associate who left the firm 13 years ago to join the Federal Reserve Bank of New York has returned to work as of counsel, the firm announced Tuesday.

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Texas Attys Get Green Light To Charge Subscription Fees

By Lynn LaRowe

An opinion recently issued by the Professional Ethics Committee of the State Bar of Texas gives Lone Star State lawyers the go-ahead to offer subscription-based legal services so long as the arrangement doesn't result in the charging of an "unconscionable fee."

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Feds To Extend Plea Offer To Oath Keepers Atty In Jan. 6 Case

By Ali Sullivan

Federal prosecutors said Wednesday that they plan to extend a plea offer to an attorney for the far-right Oath Keepers group charged in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol, but the specifics of the offer could depend on the U.S. Supreme Court's stance on a federal statute often used to prosecute alleged Capitol rioters.

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NC County Sued Over 'Faithful Slaves' Courthouse Monument

By Adrian Cruz

A group of residents of North Carolina's Tyrrell County has sued the county's board of commissioners in North Carolina federal court over an allegedly racist monument outside a courthouse that commemorates "faithful slaves" deemed loyal to the Confederacy during the American Civil War.

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