Property
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October 08, 2024
Hawaii Justices Hand AIG Win In Novel Climate Coverage Suit
AIG isn't obligated to cover a lawsuit accusing a Honolulu-based Sunoco subsidiary of contributing to climate change, the Hawaii Supreme Court ruled, saying a pollution exclusion in the oil giant's policy encompasses greenhouse gas emissions.
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October 08, 2024
Insurer Says Kiwanis Abuse Claims Won't Trigger $35M Policy
An insurer told a Washington federal judge that because its coverage only kicked in at the $35 million level, it should be dismissed from litigation seeking payment of a multimillion-dollar judgment from insurers to resolve child sex abuse survivors' claims against a foster boys home run by Kiwanis International.
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October 08, 2024
3rd Circ. Won't Rehear Pa., NJ Businesses' Virus Loss Suits
The Third Circuit declined to rehear consolidated pandemic-related loss coverage disputes brought by New Jersey and Pennsylvania businesses, according to an order issued Tuesday, upholding its decision that the businesses' insurers didn't owe coverage for the claimed losses.
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October 08, 2024
Texas Class Wants Funding Firms To Face Hurricane Ad Suit
A Texas magistrate judge was wrong to recommend dropping litigation funding companies from a suit alleging a law firm deceptively advertised to hurricane victims, with a proposed class of storm victims arguing the funders must have been aware of the scheme when they loaned the firm $20 million.
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October 07, 2024
Factory Mutual Must Fully Cover Plant Explosions, Suit Says
Petrochemicals maker Indorama Ventures accused Factory Mutual Insurance Co. in Texas federal court Monday of wrongly refusing to fully cover roughly $100 million in losses stemming from a series of major explosions in 2019 near an Indorama plant in Texas.
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October 07, 2024
Title Co. Denied Early Win In $13M Hotel Investment Fight
A California federal judge declined to grant a title company an early win in a lawsuit brought by an investor accusing it of improperly releasing the investor's $13 million contribution to a 17-hotel deal, finding that a dispute remained over multiple factual issues.
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October 04, 2024
Taxation With Representation: Gibson Dunn, Weil, Simpson
In this week's Taxation with Representation, DirectTV buys EchoStar's video business for $10 billion, Marsh McLennan inks a $7.75 billion deal for McGriff Insurance, and PepsiCo closes a $1.2 billion deal to purchase Siete Foods.
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October 03, 2024
Eagles Insurer Bolsters Dismissal Bid In COVID Closure Suit
The insurer for the Philadelphia Eagles on Wednesday bolstered its bid to dismiss the NFL team's suit seeking coverage for business disruption and losses caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, throwing recent case law behind its position that the pandemic's early effects on public events did not constitute physical loss entitling insurance coverage.
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October 03, 2024
10th Circ. Denies Gunshot Injury Coverage To Hookah Lounge
The Tenth Circuit backed an insurer's win Thursday against a hookah lounge seeking coverage of underlying litigation over paralyzing gunshot wounds a man suffered in 2019 during a shootout between lounge security guards and an armed patron.
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October 03, 2024
Helene's Devastation Worsened By Inadequate Insurance
Hurricane Helene's devastating path across the southeastern U.S. has brought concerns about inadequate flood insurance and resilience measures to the forefront of a national conversation on the risks of extreme precipitation.
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October 03, 2024
12 Lawyers Who Are The Future Of The Supreme Court Bar
One attorney hasn't lost a single U.S. Supreme Court case she's argued, or even a single justice's vote. One attorney is perhaps "the preeminent SCOTUS advocate." And one may soon become U.S. solicitor general, despite acknowledging there are "judges out there who don't like me." All three are among a dozen lawyers in the vanguard of the Supreme Court bar's next generation, poised to follow in the footsteps of the bar's current icons.
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October 03, 2024
9th. Circ. To Weigh If Geico Favored Noninsured In Auto Suit
The Ninth Circuit will hear oral arguments Wednesday over whether Geico acted in bad faith when it prioritized a release of its policyholder's father-in-law during failed settlement negotiations with the family of a pedestrian fatally struck by the insured driver, focusing on whether a "permissive-use provision" extended coverage. Here, Law360 breaks down the case in advance.
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October 03, 2024
Insurance Litigation Week In Review
Employees in Colorado can seek coverage beyond workers' compensation after crashing at work, a suit over the demise of a tunnel-boring machine is finally over, the Alaska Supreme Court iced out businesses seeking COVID-19 loss coverage and Atari was allowed to pursue State Farm for using its game in a commercial. Here, Law360 takes a look at the past week's top insurance news.
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October 03, 2024
Calif. Eateries End COVID-19 Coverage Fight
The operators of two high-end Napa Valley restaurants told the Ninth Circuit they have agreed to end their suit seeking to recover pandemic-related losses from a Hartford unit following the California Supreme Court's ruling in a similar case that a virus exclusion didn't render limited virus coverage illusory.
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October 03, 2024
D&O Expert Talks Market Trends And Predictions
Directors and officers policyholders should keep a close eye on an evolving regulatory environment and risks related to artificial intelligence, but they can expect the market to remain stable over the next year due to increased capacity, according to CAC Specialty Senior Vice President Robert Regueiro. Here, he sits down with Law360 to talk about those issues.
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October 02, 2024
Climate Risk Is Turning The Tide In Buyer, Investor Behavior
Climate risk isn't yet the kind of consideration that would make or break the average property deal. But as it becomes less of an abstract concept and more of a concrete part of due diligence, it's on the verge of causing major ripples throughout the real estate industry.
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October 01, 2024
Calif. Judge Won't Let Insurers Slip Mold Coverage Suit
A California federal judge mostly refused to allow a group of insurers to escape a suit filed by the owner and operator of a 231-unit California apartment complex seeking coverage for mold under a $69 million builders risk policy.
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October 01, 2024
Insurers Say $40M Hurricane Claims Must Be Arbitrated
A group of insurers led by certain underwriters at Lloyd's, London urged a Louisiana federal court to reject a group of property owners' "last-ditch effort" to avoid arbitrating their hurricane damage claims totaling over $40 million, arguing the owners "don't dispute" that the arbitration provision in their policy is enforceable.
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September 30, 2024
Chubb Units Avoid Nearly All Claims In Water Damage Suit
A Connecticut federal court on Monday tossed nearly all coverage claims a commercial real estate company and its owner lodged against Chubb companies over plumbing issues at their headquarters, finding two of the defendant Chubb companies weren't parties to the policy at issue.
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September 30, 2024
Marsh McLennan Paying $7.75B For McGriff Insurance
New York-based global professional services group Marsh McLennan said Monday it has agreed to buy insurance brokerage McGriff Insurance Services, an affiliate of TIH Insurance Holdings, for $7.75 billion in a deal that included guidance from Troutman Pepper, Wachtell Lipton and Simpson Thacher.
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September 27, 2024
La. Property Owners Fight Arbitration Of $40M Coverage Row
Dozens of companies seeking insurance payouts for damage caused by hurricanes Ida and Zeta urged a Louisiana federal court not to push their $40 million suit to arbitration, pointing to a clause in their policy allowing them to bring suit over money owed in any U.S. court.
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September 27, 2024
Hurricane Helene Losses Could Exceed $5B: Market Analyst
The losses from Hurricane Helene, a Category 4 storm that slammed into Florida's panhandle Thursday evening, could exceed $5 billion and challenge insurers dealing with high reinsurance costs, according to an early estimate from the insurer credit rating company AM Best.
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September 27, 2024
Alaska Top Court Says No Coverage For COVID-19 Losses
The Alaska Supreme Court joined a number of state high courts Friday in finding that neither the presence of COVID-19 at a property nor government shutdown orders implemented in response to the pandemic constitute physical loss or damage in order to trigger insurance coverage.
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September 27, 2024
$36M Oil Cleanup Row Isn't A Case For Fed. Court, Judge Says
An Oklahoma federal court tossed a pipeline owner's lawsuit seeking coverage from its excess insurers for an oil spill on tribal land that it said cost over $36 million to clean up, finding the court lacked the subject matter jurisdiction to hear the case.
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September 26, 2024
Round Up: Insurance Highlights At Climate Week NYC
The value of insurer climate risk disclosures, strengthening infrastructure and communicating climate risks were among the top issues that insurance industry officials, elected officials, and regulators highlighted at this year's edition of Climate Week in New York City.
Expert Analysis
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Insurance Considerations For Cos. Assessing New AI Risks
Because no two businesses will have the same artificial intelligence risk profile, they should consider four broad risk categories as a baseline for taking a proactive approach to guarding against AI-related exposures, say attorneys at Hunton.
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AI Brings New Insurance Concerns For Healthcare Providers
As the healthcare industry increasingly invests in medical artificial intelligence tools, it confronts a variety of liability risks that necessitate careful consideration and potential recalibration of providers' insurance programs, say Marialuisa Gallozzi and Megan Mumford Myers at Covington.
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Superfund Site Reopenings Carry Insured Risk, Opportunity
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's reported plans to reopen certain Superfund sites citing the presence of per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances raise notable liability concerns, but may also present unique opportunities for policyholders under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, say attorneys at Haynes and Boone.
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3 AI Regulation Developments Insurers Must Follow
Insurance regulators continue to actively develop regulations and guidance on the use of artificial intelligence, so insurers should be aware of recent developments from the Colorado Division of Insurance, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners and the New York Department of Financial Services, say attorneys at Willkie.
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DC Ruling Provides Support For Builders Risk Claim Recovery
To deny coverage for builders risk claims, insurers have been increasingly relying on two arguments, both of which have been invalidated in the recent U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia decision, South Capitol Bridgebuilders v. Lexington, say Greg Podolak and Cheryl Kozdrey at Saxe Doernberger.
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Deal Over Jets Stranded In Russia May Serve As Blueprint
In the face of a pending "mega-trial" over leased airplanes held in Russia after its invasion of Ukraine, a settlement between leading aviation lessor AerCap Holdings NV and NSK, the Russian state-controlled insurance company, could pave the way for similar deals, say Samantha Zaozirny and Timeyin Pinnick at Browne Jacobson.
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Illinois Trump Tower Ruling Illuminates Insurance 'Occurrence'
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.
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How Shareholder Activists Are Targeting Insurers
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.
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Insurers Should Prepare For 'Black Swan' Climate Disasters
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.
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3 Quirks Of New Jersey Insurance Coverage Law
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.
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Conn. Insurers Should Note Stricter Market Exit Oversight
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.
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Extreme Weather And Renewable Project Insurance Coverage
Excerpt from Practical Guidance
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.
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Potential Relief For Nevada Insureds Is On The Horizon
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.