General Liability

  • September 23, 2024

    Insurer Can't Escape Toddler Injury Suit Over Dollar Tree Mints

    A Missouri federal judge tossed an insurer's bid to escape coverage of underlying litigation alleging a toddler suffered severe esophageal injuries after swallowing freshening drops sold by Dollar Tree, writing that the carrier's "broad interpretation" of its total pollution exclusion "yields an absurd result."

  • September 20, 2024

    Insurer Settles Conn. Suit Over Theft From Theater Group

    Philadelphia Indemnity Insurance Co. has settled a dispute with a Florida couple who the insurer says bilked its policyholder, a theater education group, out of nearly $588,000 for their own personal use.

  • September 19, 2024

    Proposed $4B Hawaii Fire Deal Faces Insurance Questions

    A proposed $4 billion settlement made on behalf of the victims of a 2023 wildfire in Hawaii could be imperiled depending on how the Hawaii Supreme Court approaches key questions concerning insurers' rights to recoup payments made to the victims.

  • September 19, 2024

    Baltimore Bridge Crash Suits Add To Massive Insurance Toll

    Federal and local officials are seeking hundreds of millions from the owner and manager of a cargo ship that crashed into Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge, raising the insurance stakes of one of the costliest maritime disasters in history.

  • September 19, 2024

    Insurer Must Cover Fatal Motorcycle Crash, Could Owe $12.5M

    A Florida federal court ordered an insurer to pay up to its policy limits in a case that could cost it nearly $12.5 million after a delivery driver for a Chinese restaurant made an illegal turn on a Florida interstate, hitting and killing a motorcyclist in 2018.

  • September 19, 2024

    Insurance Litigation Week In Review

    The Ninth Circuit upheld tribal jurisdiction over the Suquamish Tribe's COVID-19 coverage claims, a New York federal court ruled that an insured's untimely notice doomed its coverage bid and a tax court rejected an oil leasing company's $1.1 million deduction for what the company called a "microcaptive insurance" program. Here, Law360 takes a look at the past week's top insurance news.

  • September 19, 2024

    11th Circ. Asked To Revisit Coverage Ruling Over Comma

    Food company owner ECB USA Inc. is asking the Eleventh Circuit to reconsider a decision clearing a Chubb insurance unit from covering a $4.2 million settlement agreement over the lack of a comma in a professional services policy, arguing the ruling misapplied New Jersey law.

  • September 18, 2024

    Fla. Jury Awards $5M To Teacher Injured In Car Crash

    A Florida state court jury has awarded more than $5 million to a teacher involved in a 2022 vehicle collision, resulting in serious injuries to her back and neck following a trial in Jacksonville.

  • September 16, 2024

    TIAA Faces Class Claims Over 2023 Cyberattack

    The Teachers Insurance Annuity Association of America and its life insurance subsidiary were sued in New York federal court by a proposed class alleging the company failed to protect the personal data of current and former clients and allowed a 2023 data breach.

  • September 16, 2024

    Insurers Bring Curtain Down On 'Cats' Tour Injury Dispute

    Two insurers agreed to settle a dispute in Massachusetts federal court over coverage for a touring production of "Cats" at a Rhode Island theater where an employee was severely injured by set equipment.

  • September 13, 2024

    The 2024 Regional Powerhouses

    The law firms on Law360's list of 2024 Regional Powerhouses reflected the local peculiarities of their states while often representing clients in deals and cases that captured national attention.

  • September 13, 2024

    Insurer Says Ga. Club's Coverage Ends When Guns Come Out

    Trisura Specialty Insurance Co. has asked a Georgia federal court to rule that it should not be held liable for claims arising from a January 2022 shooting at a bar that injured several patrons.

  • September 13, 2024

    USC Sex Abuse Coverage Dispute Dropped After Doc's Death

    The University of Southern California and several of its insurers dropped a dispute over coverage for sexual assault allegations against disgraced gynecologist Dr. George Tyndall, which comes after the death of the doctor in October 2023.

  • September 12, 2024

    Towers Watson Can't Duck Bump-Up Exclusion, 4th Circ. Told

    Towers Watson's latest effort to get its directors and officers insurers to fund a $75 million settlement in a shareholder suit over its merger with Willis should be tossed, the insurers told the Fourth Circuit, saying the bump-up exclusion unambiguously applies to bar coverage.

  • September 10, 2024

    Cybersecurity Co. Beats Suit Over Med Tech Data Breach

    A Massachusetts federal judge declined to hold information security technology company Barracuda Networks Inc. liable over a 2018 data breach that exposed the confidential information of more than 277,000 patients of medical device maker Zoll Medical Corp.

  • September 10, 2024

    London Reinsurance Sector Grew To £11B In 2023

    The value of reinsurance transactions written in the London company insurance market grew by 33% in 2023 on the back of a harder pricing environment, according to figures published Tuesday by a trade body.

  • September 09, 2024

    No Coverage For BNSF In Flood Suit, Travelers Says

    Two Travelers units told a California federal court that they owe no additional insured coverage to railway giant BNSF over claims that a track relocation project it undertook caused significant flooding on a property owner's land.

  • September 05, 2024

    3rd Circ. Relieves Insurer Of Additional UIM Coverage

    The Third Circuit reversed an early win a lower court handed to a couple whose son suffered serious injuries in a motorized dirt bike accident, finding that the couple's insurer needn't pay an additional $250,000 under another household policy because of the policy's household vehicle exclusion.

  • September 05, 2024

    Notable D&O Rulings Of 2024 So Far

    The U.S. Supreme Court’s corporate disclosure ruling, a California federal court’s take on advancement of subpoena-related defense costs and conflicting Delaware state court decisions on the enforcement of no-action clauses have set up 2024 as a big year for director and officer coverage rulings. Here, Law360 looks at five notable D&O rulings from the year so far.

  • September 05, 2024

    Insurers Face Divided Regulator Response To AI Use Risks

    Insurers are increasingly exploring methods for implementing artificial intelligence systems, and regulators across the United States are taking a variety of approaches to address concerns that such systems may exploit personal information or unfairly discriminate against consumers. Here, Law360 consults state insurance agencies to map out the insurer AI guidance landscape.

  • September 05, 2024

    Insurance Litigation Week In Review

    The Fifth Circuit declined to revive a proposed global settlement related to the 2010 BP oil spill, a Hawaii federal judge determined a coverage dispute stemming from the 2023 Maui wildfires belonged in state court, and an Aon unit sought at least $140 million in damages from a Chinese bank.

  • September 05, 2024

    Mound Cotton Brings On Litigation Duo In Fort Lauderdale

    Mound Cotton Wollan & Greengrass LLP, which represents insurance companies, secured a pair of new partners for its Fort Lauderdale, Florida, office, one from Zelle LLP and another from Kelley Kronenberg.

  • September 04, 2024

    AIG Avoids Defending Retailer Against Ghost Gun Lawsuits

    Two AIG units have no duty to defend a Texas-based firearms retailer against three lawsuits alleging that it knowingly sold unfinished firearm components that would later be assembled into untraceable "ghost guns," a New York federal court ruled, finding the underlying claims do not allege a covered occurrence.

  • September 03, 2024

    Pharma Co., State Street Hit With Pension Annuity Suit

    Bristol-Myers Squibb retirees hit the pharmaceutical giant and its investment adviser, State Street, with a class action Tuesday in New York, alleging they breached their fiduciary duty to pensioners by converting pension benefits into annuity insurance contracts using a provider that wasn't the safest available.

  • September 03, 2024

    Landlord's Insurer Says Other Carrier Must Cover Death Suit

    The insurer of a New Jersey restaurant must provide additional insured coverage to the restaurant's landlord in an underlying wrongful death suit, a Travelers unit told a federal court, saying Travelers shouldn't be the one to foot the bill for the landlord's defense costs.

Expert Analysis

  • Harvard's Broker Fight Shows Active Risk Management Is Key

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    Harvard University’s recently filed suit against its insurance broker for alleged malpractice in handling the Students for Fair Admissions claim illustrates that risk management requires the concerted effort of policyholders, brokers and insurers to protect against disastrous losses, say William McMichael and David Klein at Pillsbury.

  • Illinois Trump Tower Ruling Illuminates Insurance 'Occurrence'

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    In Continental Casualty v. 401 North Wabash Venture, an Illinois appellate court found that Trump Tower was not entitled to insurance coverage for operating its HVAC system without a permit, helping to further define a widely litigated general liability insurance issue — what constitutes an "occurrence," say Robert Tugander and Greg Mann at Rivkin Radler.

  • How Shareholder Activists Are Targeting Insurers

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    As shareholder activists take a closer look at the insurance industry, they are pushing insurers to take value-enhancing and climate-related measures — but insurers can prepare by anticipating activist concerns, maintaining robust shareholder engagement, and considering changes in response to the universal proxy rules, say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • Breaking Down Insurers' Improper Recoupment Efforts

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    In a recent trend, insurance companies have sought to recoup defense costs from their policyholders, but there are four counterarguments that policyholders can deploy to fend off these concerning recoupment efforts, say William Passannante and Nicholas Bradley at Anderson Kill.

  • Insurers Should Prepare For 'Black Swan' Climate Disasters

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    As rapid climate change results in increased risk of casualties and property loss from rare, severe weather events, the insurance industry should take five crucial steps toward evolving and continuing operations, including advanced analytic techniques and investments in alternative energy sources, say Stephen Brown and Irena Maier at Wilson Elser.

  • How Ill. Supreme Court Could Shape Statutory Violation Cases

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    In Fausett v. Walgreens, the Illinois Supreme Court will take up the question of whether a violation of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act satisfies the injury-in-fact requirement, and any outcome could significantly change the litigation landscape in Illinois, say Donald Patrick Eckler and Joshua Zhao at Freeman Mathis.

  • 3 Quirks Of New Jersey Insurance Coverage Law

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    There are a multitude of state-specific requirements and nuances that make New Jersey insurance law unique, including in the areas of duty to defend, reservation of rights and bad faith, say attorneys at Goldberg Segalla.

  • Conn. Insurers Should Note Stricter Market Exit Oversight

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    The Connecticut Insurance Department recently issued a bulletin that reflects a unique and stricter approach to insurers' market withdrawals and reductions in property and casualty business, making clear that it will not assess compliance based on an insurer's intent, but on the effect of the insurer's actions, says Elizabeth Retersdorf at Day Pitney.

  • Extreme Weather And Renewable Project Insurance Coverage

    Excerpt from Practical Guidance
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    The regularity and severity of extreme weather events driven by climate change are putting renewable energy projects increasingly at risk — so project owners, contractors and investors should understand the issues that can arise in these situations when seeking recovery under a builder's risk insurance policy, say Paul Ferland and Joshua Tumen at Cozen O'Connor.

  • Potential Relief For Nevada Insureds Is On The Horizon

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    A proposed regulation recently issued by the Nevada Division of Insurance would severely restrict the state's new law prohibiting burning-limits policies, enacting welcome changes to address businesses' concerns that the law will make it harder to obtain cost-effective liability insurance, says Sheri Thome at Wilson Elser.

  • Suits Likely Over Nevada Law Limiting Claimant Injury Exams

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    A new Nevada law placing barriers on the mental or physical examinations that defendants use to evaluate claimants' injuries will likely spur waves of litigation to reconcile it with existing rules and practice, says Michael Lowry at Wilson Elser.

  • Mass. Ruling Shows Value Of Additional Insured Specifics

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    A Massachusetts court’s recent D.F. Pray v. Wesco Insurance decision demonstrates that blanket additional insured endorsements can create issues with personal jurisdiction, so those named as additional insureds should require their lower-tier contractors to use specific endorsements, say Thomas Dunn and Sheya Rivard at Pierce Atwood.

  • Insurance Cos. Are Stretching Construction Standard Limits

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    In the construction sector, the importance of closely vetting downstream parties' insurance policies has never been more critical — owners and general contractors need to be on the lookout for ever broader carrier-specific expansions of standard insurance provisions that are perilous for risk transfer, says Eric Clarkson at Saxe Doernberger.