Specialty Lines
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July 11, 2024
Jurisdiction Issue May Doom Taliban-Seized Warehouse Suit
A logistics company's suit seeking $41 million in coverage after one of its warehouses in Afghanistan was seized by the Taliban will be tossed for lack of subject matter jurisdiction unless the company can cure the deficiency, which "does not appear feasible," a New York federal court ruled.
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July 11, 2024
Insurer Can Tap Trust Fund For Old Claims, Mass. Court Says
A Massachusetts intermediate appellate court concluded Thursday that workers' compensation insurers who are no longer selling policies in the state but still paying benefits on older claims are entitled to seek partial reimbursement from an employer-funded state trust fund, reversing its own prior holding on the question.
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July 11, 2024
Connell Foley Attys Part Of NJ Insurance Trio At Kennedys
Global law firm Kennedys CMK has brought on two former Connell Foley LLP attorneys and a former senior litigation counsel for an insurer to bolster its insurance coverage team in New Jersey, the firm announced Thursday.
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July 11, 2024
Mich. Asks Appeals Court To Rethink Nationwide's Tax Win
Michigan insurance companies that are part of Nationwide are required to file taxes as individual entities and not as a unitary group, Michigan's tax department said, asking the state Court of Appeals to reconsider its opinion in the case.
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July 11, 2024
Engineering Co. Seeks Coverage Of Deal In $80M Suit
An engineering and design firm said its insurer must reimburse it for a settlement reached in an $80 million unfair business practice lawsuit, telling a Nebraska federal court the insurer wrongfully denied coverage, forcing the firm to defend itself.
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July 10, 2024
Insurer Must Face Claims In Penile Implant Coverage Suit
An insurer can't escape a suit brought by a urologist and his practice seeking coverage for a proposed class action over a penile enlargement implant and procedure, a California federal court ruled Wednesday, saying it's too early to conclude that the underlying action doesn't assert potentially covered claims.
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July 09, 2024
NY Judge In Trump Case OKs Narrow Subpoena For Atty
An attorney who told reporters he held an impromptu hallway conversation with a New York state judge in the lead-up to February's $464.6 million civil fraud judgment against Donald Trump must turn over any communications he had with the court regarding the underlying action, according to a Tuesday ruling.
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July 09, 2024
NJ Panel Revokes Coverage For Pharma Co. In Fraud Row
A pharmaceutical company isn't covered for underlying accusations that it was a middleman in a self-dealing scheme orchestrated by its now-deceased board chairman, a New Jersey state appeals court ruled Tuesday, reversing a decision that a capacity exclusion in the company's directors and officers policy didn't apply.
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July 09, 2024
Insurer Seeks $1.7M For Damaged Concert Gear
An insurer is seeking to recoup over $1.7 million in damages it incurred after concert gear was damaged en route to New York from Belgium, telling a New York federal court Tuesday that a shipping company owed a duty to the cargo's owner to deliver its products safely.
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July 05, 2024
How Reshaped Circuit Courts Are Faring At The High Court
Seminal rulings from the U.S. Supreme Court's latest term will reshape many facets of American society in the coming years. Already, however, the rulings offer glimpses of how the justices view specific circuit courts, which have themselves been reshaped by an abundance of new judges.
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July 05, 2024
Breaking Down The Vote: The High Court Term In Review
The U.S. Supreme Court's lethargic pace of decision-making this term left the justices to issue a slew of highly anticipated and controversial rulings during the term's final week — rulings that put the court's ideological divisions on vivid display. Here, Law360 takes a data dive into the numbers behind this court term.
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July 05, 2024
High Court Flexes Muscle To Limit Administrative State
The U.S. Supreme Court's dismantling of a 40-year-old judicial deference doctrine, coupled with rulings stripping federal agencies of certain enforcement powers and exposing them to additional litigation, has established the October 2023 term as likely the most consequential in administrative law history.
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July 05, 2024
The Sharpest Dissents From The Supreme Court Term
The U.S. Supreme Court's session ended with a series of blockbuster cases that granted the president broad immunity, changed federal gun policy and kneecapped administrative agencies. And many of the biggest decisions fell along partisan lines.
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July 05, 2024
5 Moments That Shaped The Supreme Court's Jan. 6 Decision
When the high court limited the scope of a federal obstruction statute used to charge hundreds of rioters who stormed the Capitol, the justices did not vote along ideological lines. In a year marked by 6-3 splits, what accounts for the departure? Here are some moments from oral arguments that may have swayed the justices.
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July 05, 2024
The Funniest Moments Of The Supreme Court's Term
In a U.S. Supreme Court term teeming with serious showdowns, the august air at oral arguments filled with laughter after an attorney mentioned her plastic surgeon and a justice seemed to diss his colleagues, to cite just two of the term's mirthful moments. Here, we look at the funniest moments of the term.
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July 05, 2024
The Firms That Won Big At The Supreme Court
This U.S. Supreme Court term featured high-stakes oral arguments on issues including gerrymandering, abortion and federal agency authority, and a hot bench ever more willing to engage in a lengthy back-and-forth with advocates. Here's a look at the law firms that argued the most cases and how they fared.
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July 03, 2024
Insurer Seeks To Cover D&O Defenses In DMK Pharma Ch. 11
An insurance company asked a Delaware bankruptcy court Wednesday to let it pay defense expenses under a $5 million directors and officers policy for bankrupt biotechnology company DMK Pharmaceuticals Corp., which is facing an investor lawsuit and two federal agency investigations, arguing the policy proceeds aren't part of DMK's Chapter 11 estate.
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July 03, 2024
Hartford Unit Says Software Co. Not Covered For BIPA Claims
A Hartford unit told an Illinois federal court that a software company isn't owed coverage for two underlying class actions alleging that its software was used by two different restaurant chains to collect customers' biometric information, arguing that the alleged Biometric Information Privacy Act violations aren't covered under its policies.
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July 03, 2024
Markel Drops Suit Over Law Firm's Malpractice Coverage
A Markel unit told a New York federal court it is dropping its suit against Harris Sliwoski LLP over coverage for malpractice claims lodged against the Seattle-based firm by Haiti after a $31 million judgment entered against the Caribbean country.
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July 03, 2024
Top General Liability Rulings From The First Half of 2024
The first six months of 2024 brought big wins for carriers involved in an opioid-related coverage dispute at the federal level, while state justices offered clarity for policyholders in claims-made commercial general liability policy interpretation and for a claimant's ability to pursue action against insurers. Here, Law360 breaks down the top commercial general liability rulings from the first half of the year.
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July 03, 2024
High Court's Regulatory Rulings Unsettle Coverage Risks
The U.S. Supreme Court's decisions that empower the courts at the expense of federal regulators' enforcement powers have unsettled the regulatory risks companies are used to, raising uncertainty for how professional and specialty line insurance coverage will adapt.
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July 03, 2024
After Chevron Deference: What Lawyers Need To Know
This term, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Chevron deference, a precedent established 40 years ago that said when judges could defer to federal agencies' interpretations of law in rulemaking. Here, catch up with Law360's coverage of what is likely to happen next.
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July 03, 2024
Insurance Litigation Week In Review
An insurer won a coverage dispute over a $3.2 million injury verdict stemming from a bar fight, Texas' largest nonprofit health system failed to differentiate its pandemic business loss claims from other cases, and a petroleum company was denied coverage for multidistrict litigation over gas additives.
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July 01, 2024
Aldi Unit, Warehouse Settle Suit Over Rodent-Ravaged Sweets
A New Jersey federal court has permanently tossed a suit brought by an Aldi branch and its insurer seeking payback from a warehouse operator after rodents feasted on hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of chocolate stored there, signing off on a settlement.
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June 28, 2024
Chevron's End Is Just The Start For Energized Agency Foes
By knocking down a powerful precedent that has towered over administrative law for 40 years, the U.S. Supreme Court's right wing Friday gave a crowning achievement to anti-agency attorneys. But for those attorneys, the achievement is merely a means to an end, and experts expect a litigation blitzkrieg to materialize quickly in the aftermath.
Expert Analysis
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Cybersecurity Basics Are Key to Combating Ransomware
Recent prohibitions on ransom payments and other public policy measures vastly underestimate the breadth and complexity of the ransomware problem and will only work if organizations adopt basic cyber defenses, says Kate Margolis at Bradley.
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How M&A Insurers Can Increase Smaller Deal Servicing
As the number of M&A deals in the $50 million to $200 million range continues to grow, lawyers, insurance brokers and clients must address the trend away from covering these smaller transactions by working together to make it easier for carriers to consider submissions and to insure these types of risks, says Hilary Weiss at Liberty Global.
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Lessons From Calif. Liability Claim Recoupment Ruling
A recent California federal court decision in Evanston Insurance v. Winstar Properties illustrates the perils of insurer recoupment and underscores the importance of assessing recoupment rights, if any, throughout the claims process, say Geoffrey Fehling and Veronica Adams at Hunton.
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Awaiting Critical Bankruptcy Decision For Surety Industry
The recent oral argument in Argonaut Insurance v. Falcon V offers the Fifth Circuit an opportunity to create a rule for multilateral contracts in bankruptcy and exposed the common misconception that a surety assumes the risk of the principal's nonperformance when it issues a bond, say Lisa Tancredi at Womble Bond and Laura Murphy at Travelers.
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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.