General Liability
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November 05, 2024
Insurer Drops Ice Rink Suit Against Maintenance Co.
An insurer and an ice rink maintenance company have stipulated to the dismissal of the insurer's suit alleging that the maintenance company negligently installed a heat exchanger for an Ann Arbor, Michigan, ice rink.
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November 05, 2024
Management Co. Says Insurer Can't Duck HOA Fire Coverage
A property management company has taken an Auto-Owners Insurance unit to North Carolina federal court for allegedly trying to pull back defense and indemnity coverage it had already been providing in an underlying lawsuit brought by a homeowners' association over a 2021 fire, arguing that it's too late for the insurer to back out.
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November 05, 2024
Meta Owed No Coverage For Social Media MDL, Hartford Says
Two Hartford units told a Delaware state court they should have no duty to defend Meta Platforms Inc., parent of Facebook and Instagram, against numerous lawsuits accusing the social media giant of deliberately designing its platforms to be addictive to adolescents and concealing its harmful effects on them.
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November 04, 2024
9th Circ. Revives Developer's Fire Loss Coverage Suit
The Ninth Circuit revived a company's claim for lost business income after its laundromat development project was destroyed in a fire, saying Monday in an unpublished opinion that the developer's claim is not unduly speculative.
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November 04, 2024
Insurer Says Only Sublimit Available In Sex Misconduct Suits
A commercial general liability insurer for a Nashville-based gym told a Tennessee federal court that only a $100,000 "each abuse" sublimit in an abuse endorsement is available for four civil lawsuits stemming from a personal trainer's sexual misconduct.
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November 04, 2024
Justices Remand Atty Privilege Case After Judge Admits Gaffe
The Colorado Supreme Court has remanded a case over whether communications between an insurance company's outside lawyer and the experts it hired to study an alleged construction defect are privileged, after some justices said the appeal was "half-baked" because the trial judge had already admitted she was wrong.
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November 01, 2024
Taco Bell Franchisee Insurers Want Out Of BIPA Suit Coverage
Two Nationwide units told an Illinois federal court they owe no coverage to two Taco Bell franchisees facing a proposed class action alleging that they violated the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act, invoking three separate exclusions in the franchisees' commercial general liability and umbrella policies.
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October 31, 2024
Insurance Risks Abound Due To Exceptional Storms, Pros Say
The 2024 hurricane season is historically exceptional from a climatological and insurance industry perspective, but it should also be understood against the greater context of a high-loss landscape that demands a finer understanding of changing climate risks, academic risk experts said Thursday.
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October 31, 2024
Chubb Says No Coverage For Texas Chemical Explosion Suits
Two Chubb units told a Texas federal court Thursday they owe no coverage to Team Industrial Services Inc. for two lawsuits seeking to hold it liable for injuries from an explosion at a chemical plant, arguing a pollution exclusion applies because a release of a chemical caused the explosion.
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October 31, 2024
Insurance Litigation Week In Review
The Louisiana Supreme Court ruled on the enforceability of arbitration clauses in insurance contracts, a Pennsylvania federal court denied a medical company's bid for toxic tort coverage and a New Jersey federal court blocked an insurer's attempt to dodge covering sexual abuse claims.
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October 31, 2024
Kirkland Adds Partner To Insurance Transactions Practice
Kirkland & Ellis LLP has added another partner to the firm's insurance transactions and regulatory practice group, following two other partner hires to the group earlier this year.
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October 31, 2024
Meet The Insurance Commissioner Candidates For Wash., ND
With Washington and North Dakota rounding out the states prepared to cast their vote for insurance commissioner, the former will see a new commissioner for the first time in 24 years and the latter features an incumbent running unopposed. Law360 spoke with the candidates about their takes on the status of their state's insurance market and their plans for holding the office.
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October 31, 2024
The 2024 Law360 Pulse Leaderboard
Check out the Law360 Pulse Leaderboard to see which firms made the list of leaders in all-around excellence this year.
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October 31, 2024
Firms' Hiring Strategies Are Evolving In Fight For Top Spot
Competition for top talent among elite law firms shows no signs of slowing down, even amid economic uncertainty, with financially strong firms deploying aggressive strategies to attract and retain skilled professionals to solidify their market position.
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October 31, 2024
Texas Wind Insurer's Rate Denial Spurs Funding Concerns
The Texas insurance commissioner's recent decision to deny a proposed 10% rate increase for the state's windstorm insurer of last resort has been applauded by some for prioritizing affordable coverage for policyholders, while others remain concerned about the insurer's funding and ability to pay claims.
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October 30, 2024
Insurer Can't Cap Interest In Birth Injury Case, Patient Says
A patient suing his doctor over injuries he suffered at birth urged the Colorado Supreme Court not to limit interest on his medical malpractice damages to $1 million, arguing in a brief the doctor's insurer had chances to settle the case years ago and refused.
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October 30, 2024
Publix Denied Early Win Over Opioid Coverage Defense
A Florida federal court rejected Publix's bid for defense cost coverage for dozens of public nuisance lawsuits related to the opioid crisis, finding that the damages sought are too far removed from particular bodily injuries caused "because of" opioid addiction, as required in Publix's policies.
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October 30, 2024
3M Says Excess Insurers Must Cover PFAS Claims
Manufacturing giant 3M said its excess insurers must cover claims alleging injury and damage because of exposure to so-called forever chemicals in the company's products, telling a Delaware state court that the claims fall squarely within the scope of coverage promised in the policies.
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October 29, 2024
Mo. Panel Won't Trim $4.3M Interest Award From $40M Verdict
A Missouri state appeals court upheld a woman's roughly $4.3 million prejudgment interest award after she won $40 million at trial over her husband's fatal auto collision, finding Tuesday she was not required to directly send a pretrial settlement demand to the at-fault driver's insurer.
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October 29, 2024
Texas Judge Rejects Early Win In Water Pollution Dispute
A Texas federal judge denied on Tuesday an insurer's bid for an early win in its lawsuit against a water supply company accused of providing contaminated water to Cameron County residents, despite the insurer's argument that pollution exclusions in multiple policies bar coverage for the underlying claims.
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October 29, 2024
Medical Co. Gets No Coverage For Toxic Tort
An insurer for B. Braun Medical Inc. has no duty to defend or indemnify the company against numerous lawsuits accusing B. Braun of exposing residents near one of its medical device manufacturing plants to a carcinogenic gas, a Pennsylvania federal court ruled, finding a pollution exclusion applicable.
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October 28, 2024
NJ Diocese Gets Insurer's Abuse Coverage Suit Tossed
A New Jersey federal court tossed an insurer's suit seeking to escape coverage for more than 200 sexual abuse lawsuits brought against the Catholic Diocese of Trenton, saying Monday the suit "relies on a strictly hypothetical controversy that may never occur."
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October 28, 2024
Wrongful Death Coverage Capped At $1M, Zurich Says
Zurich urged a Colorado federal court to grant it an early win in a lawsuit brought by a pipeline construction company stemming from an underlying wrongful death action, arguing that relevant policy language only guaranteed the company $1 million instead of twice that amount.
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October 25, 2024
Photo App Says BIPA Ignorance Warrants Insurance Coverage
The company behind a website and app that allow families to view photos of their children at summer camp told an Illinois federal judge it had no idea about the state's biometric privacy law, and thus couldn't have knowingly violated it, arguing that means insurers cannot shirk their responsibility to defend it in an underlying suit.
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October 25, 2024
New York City Seeks Coverage In Homeless Shelter Death Suit
The city of New York is seeking coverage from the insurer of a homeless shelter it contracted with after it was accused of negligence leading to the fatal seizure of a mother who lived there, a case removed to New York federal court Friday said.
Expert Analysis
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Insurers Have A Ch. 11 Voice Following High Court Ruling
The U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling in Truck Insurance Exchange v. Kaiser Gypsum — which reaffirmed a broad definition of "party in interest" — will give insurers, particularly in mass tort Chapter 11 bankruptcies, more opportunity to protect their interests and identify problems with reorganization plans, says George Singer at Holland & Hart.
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8th Circ. Insurance Ruling Spotlights Related-Claims Defenses
The Eighth Circuit’s recent Dexon v. Travelers ruling — that the insurer must provide a defense despite the policy’s related-acts provision — provides guidance for how policyholders can overcome related-acts defenses, say Geoffrey Fehling and Jae Lynn Huckaba at Hunton.
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Managing Legal Risks After University Gaza Protests
Following the protests sparked by the war in Gaza, colleges and universities should expect a long investigative tail and take steps to mitigate risks associated with compliance issues under various legal frameworks and institutional policies, say Wiley's Diana Shaw and Colin Cloherty.
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An Insurance Coverage Checklist For PFAS Defendants
With PFAS liability exposures attracting increased media attention, now is a good time for companies that could be exposed to liability related to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances to review existing and past insurance policies, and consider taking proactive steps to maximize their likelihood of coverage, say attorneys at Nossaman.
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Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: May Lessons
In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy discusses four notable circuit court decisions on topics from automobile insurance to securities — and provides key takeaways for counsel on issues including circuit-specific ascertainability requirements and how to conduct a Daubert analysis prior to class certification.
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Key Insurance Considerations After $725M Benzene Verdict
The recent massive benzene verdict in Gill v. Exxon Mobil will certainly trigger insurance questions — and likely a new wave of benzene suits — so potential defendants should study Radiator Specialty v. Arrowood Indemnity, the only state high court decision regarding benzene claim coverage, says Jonathan Hardin at Perkins Coie.
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Key Lessons From Recent Insurance Policy Reform Litigation
A review of recent case law reveals the wide range of misunderstandings that may arise between insurers and policyholders in the purchase and renewal of insurance policies, as well as the utility — and the limits — of reformation and related remedies for these misunderstandings, say Jad Khazem and Seth Tucker at Covington.
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Corporate Insurance Considerations For Trafficking Claims
With the surge in litigation over liability under the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act, corporate risk managers and in-house counsel need to ensure that appropriate insurance coverage is in place to provide for defense and indemnity against this liability, says Micah Skidmore at Haynes Boone.
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Exploring An Alternative Model Of Litigation Finance
A new model of litigation finance, most aptly described as insurance-backed litigation funding, differs from traditional funding in two key ways, and the process of securing it involves three primary steps, say Bob Koneck, Christopher Le Neve Foster and Richard Butters at Atlantic Global Risk LLC.
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Leveraging Insurance Amid Microplastics Concerns
A pending microplastics lawsuit — New York v. PepsiCo Inc. — may be a harbinger of what is to come for companies whose products are exposed to the environment, so any company considering how to address microplastics liability should include a careful assessment of the potential for insurance coverage in its due diligence, say attorneys at Haynes Boone.
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Examining Illinois Genetic Privacy Law Amid Deluge Of Claims
After a federal court certified an Illinois Genetic Information Privacy Act class action in August, claims under the law have skyrocketed, so employers, insurers and others that collect health and genetic information should ensure compliance with the act to limit litigation risk, say attorneys at Squire Patton.
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An American Policyholder's Guide To UK Insurance Arbitration
No matter how experienced U.S. policyholders are in stateside disputes, the procedural quirks of U.K. insurance arbitration mean Americans should learn a few key differences between U.S. litigation and London arbitration before heading across the pond, says Robert Jacobs at Blank Rome.
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5 Climate Change Regulatory Issues Insurers Should Follow
The climate change landscape for insurers has changed dramatically recently — and not just because of the controversy over the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's climate-related risk disclosure rules, says Thomas Dawson at McDermott.