Specialty Lines
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November 21, 2024
11th Circ. Asked To Rethink $100M Credit For John Hancock
The Eleventh Circuit should reverse its decision allowing John Hancock Life Insurance Co. to keep $100 million in foreign tax credits that rightfully belong to the company's investors, trustees of a retirement plan said in arguing that the court overlooked a key U.S. Treasury regulation.
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November 20, 2024
11th Circ. Says No Coverage For Holding Co. In $11.7M Row
The Eleventh Circuit unanimously affirmed Wednesday that an insurer doesn't have to cover underlying litigation against a holding company by investors who wanted to revoke an $11.7 million buy-in, because claims were made before the policy was active.
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November 20, 2024
Burger King Franchisee Escapes BIPA Coverage Counterclaim
An Illinois federal judge has axed an AIG subsidiary's counterclaim in a Burger King franchisee's lawsuit seeking coverage for an underlying case accusing it of violating Illinois' biometric privacy law, concluding that the counterclaim is redundant and "adds nothing that will not be decided through resolution of the motions for summary judgment."
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November 19, 2024
UnitedHealthcare Can't Escape Patient's Proton Beam Suit
A Florida federal judge on Tuesday refused to toss a federal benefits lawsuit from a patient who alleged that UnitedHealthcare wrongly denied him coverage for proton beam therapy to treat tongue cancer, rejecting the insurer's argument that an exclusion for unproven treatments applied.
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November 19, 2024
Parties Voluntarily Toss Sewer Expansion Coverage Row
An Indiana federal court dismissed a lawsuit Tuesday from a utility company's insurer seeking to avoid covering a $5 million consent judgment and a $14 million damages claim from underlying litigation concerning a sewer expansion plan, after it was told in September the parties reached a global settlement in principle.
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November 18, 2024
Pa. Lab Seeks Ad Coverage For Libel Suit Over COVID Tests
A Pennsylvania laboratory told a federal court Monday that its insurer must cover it in an underlying lawsuit brought by a COVID-19 test manufacturer in which the manufacturer alleged that the lab sent 19,000 letters to test kit users wrongfully stating that the tests were unreliable.
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November 18, 2024
Trump Co. Seeks Coverage Of Wage Theft, Discrimination Suit
The Trump Corp. asked a New York federal court to force an insurer to defend it in a more than $500,000 wage theft and age discrimination dispute brought by a former employee of a company-managed luxury condo in Manhattan.
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November 14, 2024
Insurance Industry Key In Net-Zero Transition, UN Group Says
The insurance industry must take a more meaningful approach to promoting climate-friendly underwriting and investment practices in support of the transition to a net-zero economy, the United Nations' insurance-climate initiative reported Thursday.
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November 14, 2024
6th Circ. Grills Home Depot Over Data Breach Coverage Fight
Home Depot urged a Sixth Circuit panel to find that a contested electronic data exclusion in its commercial general liability excess policies was ambiguous, "tacking a crack" at persuading the appellate court that a 2014 data breach didn't involve the loss of use of electronic data.
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November 14, 2024
Election Highlights States' Role On Insurer Climate Risks
Working together to understand climate change risks to insurers and their policyholders should be a priority for state regulators, as already limited federal initiatives to study those risks are set to decrease in a Trump administration, risk and climate experts say.
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November 14, 2024
Mortgage Co. Seeks Coverage For $30M Cyber Attack Loss
Mortgage servicer Mr. Cooper Group Inc. accused units of AIG and Berkshire Hathaway of violating Texas' insurer deceptive trade practices and unfair claim settlement laws, telling a Texas federal court Thursday they've failed to fully cover more than $30 million in losses from an October 2023 hacking incident.
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November 14, 2024
Insurance Litigation Week In Review
The First Circuit upheld a Berkley unit’s win in a construction defect coverage suit, the Ninth Circuit affirmed that an unlawful exclusion in an auto policy should be reformed and not voided, and the Third Circuit heard oral arguments in a vehicle valuation class action against Progressive. Here, Law360 takes a look at the week's top insurance news.
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November 13, 2024
Insurer Says Condo That Prevented Hunting Has No Coverage
The insurer for a homeowners association asked a South Carolina federal court Wednesday to determine that a dispute over the organization's attempt to ban residents from hunting deer on their property was not owed coverage under its policy's provisions.
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November 13, 2024
Insurers Say Hyundai, Kia Should Pay For Combusting Cars
A slew of insurers for owners of certain Hyundai and Kia vehicles are suing the companies in a case removed to California federal court Wednesday, seeking to recoup costs associated with almost a decade of claims for cars that allegedly spontaneously combust and have not been fixed by the manufacturers.
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November 13, 2024
Perkins Coie Insurance Litigator Returns From Pillsbury
Perkins Coie LLP is rehiring an insurance litigator from Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP, as the firm's insurance recovery work has more than doubled in the past three years, that group's practice chair told Law360 Pulse on Wednesday.
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November 12, 2024
Freddie Mac Gets Partial Win In SEC Probe Coverage Dispute
Government-backed mortgage buyer Freddie Mac cannot obtain coverage solely because its employees received subpoenas from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, a D.C. federal court ruled while also holding that the lender's excess insurers cannot challenge a lower-layer insurer's coverage determination.
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November 07, 2024
Trump Election Complicates Growing Insurance Climate Crisis
Donald Trump's election to a second term as president is a huge setback for global efforts to curb climate change, and his disregard for the environment will likely complicate efforts to better understand climate risks facing insurers and consumers, experts say.
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November 07, 2024
State Farm Owes No Coverage For Exec In Fatal Crash Suit
A repair company's president who was involved in a fatal accident while driving a truck he personally owned but also used on the job can't be covered under its commercial auto policies, an Alaska federal court ruled, noting it's undisputed he was on a personal errand at the time.
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November 07, 2024
Trump Win Shakes Up D&O Coverage Risks Across Sectors
The reelection of former President Donald Trump this week promises to usher in a starkly different administration and regulatory approach, scrambling the current risk landscape for directors and officers and their insurers.
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November 07, 2024
Insurance Litigation Week In Review
Insurers sought to limit coverage for Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. in underlying securities claims, a proposed class of Washington Airbnb users accused the company's insurers of including undisclosed fees in their travel insurance and two Hartford units said Meta isn't owed coverage for numerous public nuisance lawsuits. Here, Law360 takes a look at the past week's top insurance news.
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November 07, 2024
Insurance Industry Biodiversity Push Comes Down To Funds
The insurance industry could lend crucial support in preventing biodiversity loss through novel risk-sharing instruments, but its effectiveness will depend on the ability to finance coverage costs, and understand the risks to biodiversity in a variety of ecosystems.
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November 07, 2024
6th Circ. To Mull CGL-Cyber Line In Home Depot Hack Fight
The Sixth Circuit's consideration of whether an electronic data exclusion relieves commercial general liability insurers for Home Depot of $50 million in data breach coverage obligations could provide some clarity on when, or if, CGL and cyber coverage overlap.
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November 05, 2024
An Early Look At Trump's Supreme Court Shortlist
With former President Donald Trump projected to win the 2024 presidential election and the Republicans' success in securing the U.S. Senate majority, Trump may now get the chance to appoint two more justices to the U.S. Supreme Court, cementing the court's conservative tilt for decades to come.
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November 05, 2024
GOP's Senate Win Hands Future Of The Judiciary To Trump
Republicans were projected to take back the White House and Senate and possibly the House early Wednesday, putting the GOP in position to back Donald Trump's agenda and his slate of young, conservative judicial nominees.
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November 05, 2024
Del., NC Insurance Commissioners Hold Their Seats
Incumbent insurance commissioners successfully defended their positions on Election Day, with Mike Causey winning in North Carolina, Trinidad Navarro securing his position in Delaware and Jon Godfread running unopposed in North Dakota. Washington voters elected a new commissioner for the first time in 24 years, with state Sen. Patty Kuderer assuming the position.
Expert Analysis
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7 Tips To Help Your Witness Be A Cross-Exam Heavyweight
Because jurors tend to pay a little more attention to cross-examination, attorneys should train their witnesses to strike a balance — making it tough for opposing counsel to make their side’s case, without coming across as difficult to the jury, says Ken Broda-Bahm at Persuasion Strategies.
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Insurance Considerations For Cos. That May Face Strikes
The recent surge in major work stoppages in the U.S. highlights the growing importance of strike preparedness for businesses, which includes understanding strike insurance coverage options, say Chris D’Amour and Brooke Duncan at Adams and Reese.
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Challenges Of Insuring An NIL Collective
Sarah Abrams at Baleen Specialty examines the emergence of name, image and likeness collectives for student-athletes, the current litigation landscape that has created a favorable environment for these organizations, and considerations for director and officer insurers looking to underwrite NIL collectives.
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An Update On Legal Issues In The Drone Market
Marialuisa Gallozzi and Alex Slawson at Covington examine recent developments in the legal issues surrounding the growing drone market, including possible First Amendment protections, Fourth Amendment surveillance, and litigation involving criminal and civil penalties, evidentiary pursuits, and insurance.
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Key Insurance Implications Of Hawaii's Historic GHG Ruling
In Aloha Petroleum v. National Union Fire Insurance, the Hawaii Supreme Court became the first state court to classify greenhouse gasses as pollutants barred from insurance coverage, a ruling likely to be afforded great weight by courts across the country, say Scott Seaman and Gar Lauerman at Hinshaw & Culbertson.
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Use The Right Kind Of Feedback To Help Gen Z Attorneys
Generation Z associates bring unique perspectives and expectations to the workplace, so it’s imperative that supervising attorneys adapt their feedback approach in order to help young lawyers learn and grow — which is good for law firms, too, says Rachael Bosch at Fringe Professional Development.
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Congress Can And Must Enact A Supreme Court Ethics Code
As public confidence in the U.S. Supreme Court dips to historic lows following reports raising conflict of interest concerns, Congress must exercise its constitutional power to enact a mandatory and enforceable code of ethics for the high court, says Muhammad Faridi, president of the New York City Bar Association.
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State Of The States' AI Legal Ethics Landscape
Over the past year, several state bar associations, as well as the American Bar Association, have released guidance on the ethical use of artificial intelligence in legal practice, all of which share overarching themes and some nuanced differences, say Eric Pacifici and Kevin Henderson at SMB Law Group.
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Insurance Likely Kept Swift Out Of The Woods After Vienna
Financial losses Taylor Swift incurred from the cancellation of three concerts in Vienna in August will likely be covered by insurance policies, considering how the facts of the situation differ from those of the Foo Fighters' 2015 insurance dispute over event cancellation and terrorism coverage, say attorneys at Anderson Kill.
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Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: September Lessons
In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy identifies practice tips from four recent class certification rulings involving denial of Medicare reimbursements, automobile insurance disputes, veterans' rights and automobile defects.
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3 Coverage Tips As 2nd Circ. 'Swipes Left' On Tinder Claim
The Second Circuit's recent opinion in Match Group v. Beazley Underwriting, overturning Tinder's victory on its insurer's motion to dismiss a coverage action, reinforces three best practices policyholders purchasing claims-made coverage should adhere to in order to avoid late-notice defenses, say Lynda Bennett and Alexander Corson at Lowenstein Sandler.
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What To Know About Insurance Coverage For Antitrust Risks
With all the regulatory activity surrounding antitrust and unfair competition claims, as highlighted by last month's D.C. federal court decision that Google is a monopolist, businesses must not only ensure compliance, but also understand their potential insurance coverage when such claims arise, says Micah Skidmore at Haynes Boone.
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Finding Coverage For Online Retail Privacy Class Actions
Following recent court rulings interpreting state invasion of privacy and electronic surveillance statutes triggering a surge in the filing of privacy class actions against online retailers, companies should examine their various insurance policies, including E&O and D&O, for defense coverage of these claims, says Alison Gaske at Gilbert LLP.