General Liability

  • February 06, 2024

    2nd Circ. Mulls Revival Of Insurer's $2.5M Software Co. Fight

    The Second Circuit seemed poised Tuesday to reverse a software company's win in an insurer's suit seeking indemnification for $2.5 million in costs associated with an underlying class action claiming the insurer's use of the company's vehicle valuation software resulted in underpayment for totaled vehicles.

  • February 06, 2024

    Complex Not Covered For $4M Shooting Claim, Insurer Says

    A Nationwide unit told a Georgia federal court it doesn't owe coverage to an Atlanta apartment complex for a tenant's bid to hold it liable for injuries she suffered during a shooting, claiming the complex waited nearly a year to notify the insurer.

  • February 05, 2024

    Fla. Legislative Session: Property Insurance Bills Roundup

    Florida lawmakers have put forward dozens of proposals to address insurance challenges in the state, from a bill that would expand coverage from the state's last resort insurer to another that contemplates mangroves as bulwarks against flooding.

  • February 05, 2024

    Wendy's Not Covered In Freezer Injury Suit, Insurer Says

    The insurer for an HVAC company told an Illinois federal court that it has no duty to defend or indemnify the operators of a Chicago-area Wendy's restaurant in an underlying lawsuit brought by a man who was injured while performing maintenance on a walk-in freezer.

  • February 05, 2024

    Insurer Owes $1.3M In Defects Row Defense Costs, Co. Says

    A Hartford unit owes a Chicago-area homebuilder more than $1.3 million in unpaid defense costs related to an underlying construction defect suit, the company told an Illinois federal court, claiming the insurer has refused to explain its coverage decisions.

  • February 05, 2024

    No CGL Coverage For Home Depot Data Breach, 6th Circ. Told

    Two insurers have told the Sixth Circuit they owe no commercial general liability coverage to Home Depot for its $172 million settlement with financial institutions over a 2014 breach of customer payment information, arguing an electronic data exclusion wholly barred coverage for the institutions' claimed losses.

  • February 05, 2024

    BNSF Railway Blamed For Triggering 2023 Wash. Wildfire

    A tenant who lost his belongings in a blaze last summer that destroyed 10 homes and burned more than 500 acres in Washington state blamed BNSF Railway in state court for negligently running a "fire prone train" through a hot, dry, overgrown area, igniting the Tunnel 5 Fire.

  • February 05, 2024

    Berkley Wants Out Of Defending Atty In $750K Trust Dispute

    An insurer told an Illinois federal court it doesn't owe defense or indemnification to an insured attorney in an underlying action from a trust alleging it's owed more than $750,000 in overdue payments, arguing there is no coverage for the trust's suit in the attorney's firm's policy.

  • February 05, 2024

    Insurer Owes $2.5M For Lost Income, Shop Owner Says

    A Hartford unit refused to pay out $2.5 million in business interruption coverage for a New York City doughnut shop's income that was lost while the city shut the store down during repairs, the shop told a New York federal court.

  • February 02, 2024

    Calif. Rate Approvals Centered In Coverage Crisis Debate

    A California law permitting public challenges to proposed premium increases is saving policyholders billions of dollars, a consumer advocacy group recently reported, a claim that has drawn scorn from industry professionals amid efforts to change the law to better favor carriers. 

  • February 02, 2024

    Claims Against BNSF Cut From $1.3M Derailment Dispute

    A Washington federal judge trimmed several claims against BNSF Railway Co. and a transportation contractor from Starr Indemnity & Liability Co.'s $1.3 million suit over a shipment of clothing destroyed in a train derailment, finding they were preempted by federal law.

  • February 02, 2024

    Owner Says Insurer Can't Dodge Tenn. Hooters Bombing Row

    The insurer of a Hooters restaurant that was decimated in a 2020 Christmas Day bombing appointed a crooked appraiser who tainted a damage award, the historic property's owner told a Tennessee Federal Court, adding that the biased determination was invalid under state law.

  • February 02, 2024

    Insurer Needn't Cover Contractor In Construction Injury Suit

    Evanston Insurance Co. has no duty to defend or indemnify a contractor in an underlying suit filed by a worker who was injured when he fell off a ladder at a construction site, a Washington federal court ruled Friday, saying the policy's residential construction exclusion applies.

  • February 02, 2024

    9th Circ.'s Opioid Ruling Packs Limited Punch

    The Ninth Circuit's finding that McKesson's insurers need not defend the pharmaceutical company against suits from municipalities claiming its deliberate conduct increased their opioid epidemic response costs is a sting to policyholders — but a slight one, experts say, because the panel relied on a California state appeals court decision in the unpublished ruling.

  • February 02, 2024

    6th Circ. Revives Bank's $32M Ponzi Settlement Coverage Suit

    A bank can seek coverage for a $32 million settlement it paid to resolve a bankruptcy suit alleging it allowed a Ponzi scheme to continue so it could recover loans to the company running the scheme, the Sixth Circuit ruled, reversing a win for a pair of AIG insurers.

  • February 02, 2024

    Clyde & Co. Hires Ex-Lewis Brisbois Team In Chicago

    Law firm Clyde & Co. LLP announced Thursday that it had hired nine Chicago-based insurance law and general liability attorneys from Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP, including that firm's former managing partner in the city.

  • February 01, 2024

    Insurer Fights Railroad Subpoena For Ohio Derailment Docs

    An insurance company that investigated claims made surrounding last year's East Palestine, Ohio, derailment has asked an Ohio federal court to block a subpoena from Norfolk Southern seeking to procure its findings from the area where the accident occurred, arguing it was a nonparty to the massive litigation over the derailment.

  • February 01, 2024

    Imerys, Cyprus Mines Propose Ch. 11 Plans With $862M Trust

    Bankrupt talc supplier Imerys Talc America, Inc. and its former owner Cyprus Mines Corp. asked a Delaware bankruptcy court to sign off on disclosure statements for their separate Chapter 11 plans that would create an $862.5 million joint trust to settle claims that their talc caused cancer.

  • February 01, 2024

    Experts Urge Justices To Bar Insurer's Ch. 11 Challenge

    Truck Insurance Exchange's contention that it is a "party in interest" with standing to challenge its insureds' Chapter 11 reorganization plan, which established a trust for asbestos injury claims, would upend the bankruptcy system if accepted, experts and policyholder representatives told the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday.

  • February 01, 2024

    Insurers Blast Syracuse Diocese Ch. 11 Plan

    Interstate Fire & Casualty Co., joined by a number of other insurance carriers, has objected to the Chapter 11 plan disclosure statement of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Syracuse, New York, saying that the plan's treatment of insurance policies abrogated the insurers' rights and that the disclosure contained inadequate information.

  • February 01, 2024

    Tenn. Resident Says State Farm Marketing Calls Violated TCPA

    State Farm used a third-party company to make automated telemarketing calls without prior consent, violating the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, according to a proposed class action filed in Illinois federal court.

  • February 01, 2024

    Insurer Wants Out Of $1M Construction Defect Coverage Suit

    An insurer told a Florida federal court that it shouldn't have to cover builders in underlying litigation accusing them of causing more than $1 million in damage via defective construction on a beachfront vacation home.

  • February 01, 2024

    Insurer Needn't Cover Gym In Brain Injury Suit, Court Says

    An insurer has no duty to defend or indemnify a gymnastics facility and an employee against a suit over a student-athlete's traumatic brain injury, an Illinois federal court ruled, finding that exclusions for gymnast injuries and injuries arising from use of certain gymnastics equipment preclude coverage.

  • January 31, 2024

    Insurance Execs Stole Co. Assets For New Biz, Suit Says

    An insurance company alleged in a federal complaint Tuesday that three former executives lined their own pockets by breaking laws and stealing assets in a plot to found their own competing business as part of a vindictive campaign fraught with subterfuge on North Carolina regulators to further imperil their former employer.

  • January 31, 2024

    Electric Co. Says Insurer Refuses To Defend BIPA Suit

    An electric company told an Illinois federal court that its insurers wrongfully refused to defend or indemnify it against an underlying proposed class action in state court by an employee who alleged the company violated the state's Biometric Information Privacy Act.

Expert Analysis

  • Unpacking NY's Revamped Wrongful Death Bill

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    Legislation to amend New York’s wrongful death law, introduced May 2, proposes more limited reforms than an earlier version the governor vetoed in January, but will likely still face strong opposition due to the severe financial impacts it would have on insurers’ set premiums and reserves, say Eric Andrew and David Adams at Hurwitz Fine.

  • NY Ruling Highlights Need For Specific Insurance Disclaimers

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    New York coverage counsel responsible for writing disclaimer letters should heed a recent appellate decision, Bahnuk v. Countryway Insurance, in which the letter sent to the plaintiff was deemed to be insufficiently specific, leaving the insurance company on the hook for coverage, says Dan Kohane at Hurwitz Fine.

  • Big Oil Certiorari Denial May Alter Climate Change Litigation

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's Monday decision not to review a handful of forum disputes in oil industry climate change litigation means that similar cases may face less corporate-friendly state courts, and insurers may see greater defense and damages exposures from Big Oil clients, say Dennis Anderson and Deepa Sutherland at Zelle.

  • 5 Tips For Filing Gov't Notices After Insurance Producer M&A

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    As insurance producer acquisition activity picks up in 2023, requiring a daunting process of notifying information changes to each Department of Insurance where the entity is licensed, certain best practices will help buyers alleviate frustration and avoid administrative actions and fines, say attorneys at Foley & Lardner.

  • Policyholder Lessons From Sandy No-Coverage Decision

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    A New York federal court recently decided that in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, Madelaine Chocolate knew Great Northern Insurance’s all-risk policy offered no coverage for storm surge — an important reminder that policyholders should review policy language for ambiguities or anti-concurrent causation clauses, say Dennis Artese and Joshua Zelen at Anderson Kill.

  • Insureds' Notice Pleading May Be Insufficient In Federal Court

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    A recent New Jersey federal court ruling in Bauman v. Hanover Insurance held that bare-bones notice pleading was insufficient and dismissed the policyholder's coverage complaint, a reminder that courts may require more than an expression of general disagreement with an insurance company's denial letter to proceed with the case, says Eugene Killian at The Killian Firm.

  • 5th Circ. Offers Expert Opinion Guidance For Insurance Cases

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    A recent Fifth Circuit decision in Majestic Oil v. Lloyd's of London provides insight into how Texas' concurrent causation doctrine could affect insurance cases where the cause of damage is at issue, and raises considerations for litigants faced with new or revised expert reports after the deadline has passed, say Brian Scarbrough and Cianan Lesley at Jenner & Block.

  • DUI Liability Ruling Affirms SC Isn't Direct Action-Friendly

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    The Supreme Court of South Carolina's recent decision in Denson v. National Casualty not only clarifies the state's jurisprudence surrounding private rights of action and negligence per se, but also tacitly reinforces that South Carolina is not a direct-action state, say Anna Cathcart and Turner Albernaz at Phelps Dunbar.

  • Peephole Cam Case Lowers The Bar On NY Negligence Claims

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    A New York state appeals court's recent decision in Brown v. New York Design Center is significant because, barring a contrary state high court ruling, claims of negligent infliction of emotional distress need not demonstrate extreme and outrageous conduct, which could result in an uptick in such claims, say attorneys at Cahill Gordon.

  • Employment-Related Litigation Risks Facing Hospitality Cos.

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    A close look at recent hospitality industry employment claims highlights key issues companies should keep an eye out for, and insurance policy considerations for managing risk related to wage and hour, privacy, and human trafficking claims, say Jan Larson and Huiyi Chen at Jenner & Block.

  • A Look At Florida's Aggressively Pro-Insurer Tort Reform

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    Florida's new tort reform law is an unwarranted gift to insurance companies that seeks to strip policyholders of key rights while doing little to curb excessive litigation, say Garrett Nemeroff and Hugh Lumpkin at Reed Smith.

  • Navigating High Court's Options In Insurer Choice Of Law

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    Depending on how the U.S. Supreme Court approaches the question of when insurers may invoke choice-of-law clauses in maritime contracts to dodge state-specific liability, the Great Lakes v. Raiders Retreat Realty decision may mean significant changes not only for admiralty law disputes, but for the insurance industry more broadly, say Lara Cassidy and Adriana Perez at Hunton.

  • 7th Circ. Adds To Range Of Opinions On MCS-90 Endorsement

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    The Seventh Circuit's recent opinion in Prime Insurance Company v. Wright helps illustrate how the variation among courts as to when the federally mandated MCS-90 insurance endorsement for motor carriers is satisfied often hinges on exactly how "interstate commerce" is defined, says Rick Boepple at Akerman.