Specialty Lines

  • June 16, 2025

    4th Circ. Says No Premium Refunds Under Fed. Mortgage Law

    A Virginia homeowner cannot recover premiums he'd prepaid for private mortgage insurance under a federal law mandating such insurance for certain borrowers, the Fourth Circuit ruled Monday, finding the Homeowners Protection Act of 1998's premium refund provisions do not extend to voluntary insurance cancellation agreements.

  • June 13, 2025

    Tax Credit Sales Would Be Difficult To Insure Under House Bill

    House Republicans' sweeping budget bill proposes to promptly scale back the clean energy tax incentives established by the 2022 climate law, a move that would make it difficult for tax insurers to back project development deals that want to sell their tax credits for cash.

  • June 12, 2025

    Air India Disaster Likely To Pose Massive Insurance Costs

    Thursday's deadly Air India disaster could implicate a range of insurance coverage proceedings, but experts said massive costs will likely be shared by multiple insurers in a process that will be shaped in part by investigations into the cause of the crash.

  • June 12, 2025

    Insurance Litigation Week In Review

    Mandarin Oriental notched a discovery win in its COVID-19 coverage action while appeals courts dealt further defeats in other pandemic-related insurance cases, Uber filed a racketeering lawsuit over sham injury payouts and the Fourth Circuit sided with an insurer in a dispute over stacking policy limits. Here, Law360 takes a look at the past week's top insurance news.

  • June 12, 2025

    Fla. Death Damages Row Signals Insurers' Tort Reform Focus

    Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' veto of a bill that would have repealed limits on noneconomic damages in fatal medical malpractice cases — despite state lawmakers' overwhelming support of the measure — signals broad concerns over how tort reform legislation could impact the insurance industry.

  • June 12, 2025

    6th Circ. PFAS Ruling Entrusts Coverage Suits To Fed Level

    The Sixth Circuit forged its own jurisdictional standard in determining that when coercive and declaratory claims are closely intertwined it's likely an abuse of discretion for a federal court to abstain from adjudication, and experts are praising the decision as a thorough analysis of the appropriateness of exercising jurisdiction over insurance disputes.

  • June 12, 2025

    Calif. Casinos Seek Coverage For Tribes' Gambling Suits

    California casino operators said they are entitled to defense coverage for suits brought by several tribes over their gambling operations, telling a federal court that their insurer has denied coverage based on policy exclusions that do not apply and has failed to conduct a proper investigation of their claims.

  • June 12, 2025

    Cyber Incidents Are D&O Problems, Too, Expert Says

    Cybersecurity incidents are increasingly implicating directors and officers insurance because of their effects on a range of compliance issues, a dynamic that may surprise policyholders more accustomed to thinking of cyber events as tech-related or cyberinsurance issues. Here, Law360 speaks with Freya Bowen, counsel at Neal Gerber & Eisenberg LLP's insurance recovery practice, about the importance of considering D&O policies for cyber incident-related liabilities,

  • June 11, 2025

    Assembly Line Co.'s Dispute Predated Policy, 6th Circ. Affirms

    The Sixth Circuit affirmed a lower court's decision denying an assembly line technology designer's bid for insurance coverage of an underlying multimillion-dollar dispute with a customer, finding coverage was excluded because the conflict originated before the professional liability policy was purchased.

  • June 10, 2025

    Wells Fargo Can't Collect On $4M Stranger-Funded Life Policy

    Wells Fargo Bank NA cannot collect on a $4 million life insurance policy, a Nebraska federal court ruled, finding the policy void from the start since it was taken out on the life of a now-deceased man with the intended purpose of benefiting an investor.

  • June 09, 2025

    Hinshaw Welcomes Insurance Litigator To New Orleans Team

    Hinshaw & Culbertson has added a partner from Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz to its global insurance services practice in New Orleans, where she will represent insurance companies and other entities, the 500-lawyer firm announced Monday.

  • June 06, 2025

    4th Circ. Denies Bid To Inflate $300K Insurance Payout

    Selective Insurance Company of South Carolina doesn't have to increase its payout to a couple involved in a car wreck, the Fourth Circuit has ruled, finding that North Carolina law doesn't provide that the couple's many insurance policies can be stacked.

  • June 05, 2025

    Novel Climate Change Death Suit Raises Insurance Questions

    A novel suit accusing oil and gas companies of contributing to a woman's 2022 heat wave death could lead to future insurance disputes, but experts said common exclusions and other policy terms could leave the companies footing defense costs.

  • June 05, 2025

    New SC Law Gives Shot Of Hope For Liquor Liability Stability

    A new law overhauling South Carolina's joint and several liability statutes, which left bars and restaurants potentially on the hook for the full amount of a verdict in alcohol-related lawsuits, has experts cautiously optimistic that the change will make insurance more affordable for these venues.

  • June 05, 2025

    Q&A: Startup Aims To Price Emergent AI Risks

    While the use of artificial intelligence platforms such as OpenAI's ChatGPT and Google's Gemini has certainly proliferated among the public, how the insurance industry will address AI-related risks across existing and new forms of coverage still remains a very open question. Here, Law360 talks about it with George Lewin-Smith, a founder of the startup Testudo, which focuses on such risks. 

  • June 05, 2025

    Software Co. Says Insurers' About-Face Led To $21M Claim

    A software company is blaming its insurers in Washington federal court for hampering its settlement talks with a client by reneging on its coverage agreements, causing the company to now potentially face a customer's $21 million claim.

  • June 05, 2025

    4th Circ. Towers Watson Ruling Not Final Word On Bump-Ups

    Towers Watson's defeat at the Fourth Circuit in its bid for coverage of settlements resolving merger-related shareholder litigation is one of the higher-profile developments in court battles over so-called bump-up exclusions, even as experts expect the scope of the decision to be limited and diluted by other court rulings.

  • June 05, 2025

    Norton Rose Adds Corporate Pro To Growing Chicago Office

    Norton Rose Fulbright announced the growth of its Chicago office Thursday with the addition of a "highly regarded corporate lawyer," who will serve as a partner in the firm's business practice group and as a member of its transactional and regulatory insurance team.

  • June 05, 2025

    Insurance Litigation Week In Review

    The Sixth Circuit said a coverage dispute over PFAS litigation shouldn't have been sent back to state court, the Tenth Circuit found that an insurer did not unreasonably deny a hail damage claim and a Florida federal court freed an insurer from paying an $8.5 million deal over construction defects. Here, Law360 takes a look at the past week's top insurance news.

  • June 04, 2025

    3 Ways DOL Benefits Chief Nominee May Affect ERISA Cases

    A key committee will decide Thursday whether to send President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the U.S. Department of Labor’s employee benefits arm ahead for a full Senate vote, setting the stage for what attorneys expect will be an employer-friendly shift in policies. Here are three ways Daniel Aronowitz could change benefits litigation if confirmed.

  • June 04, 2025

    Agent Seeks Toss Of Insurer's $1M Reinsurance Loss Suit

    An insurance company's suit alleging that an insurance agent's errors cost the company its reinsurance through the Federal Crop Insurance Corp. should be tossed, the agent told a Michigan federal court, arguing that the claims are time-barred and have already been litigated.

  • June 03, 2025

    Adjustment Of Claims Ordered After $66M Boat Death Suit

    A North Carolina federal judge granted a preliminary injunction ordering an adjuster to proceed with adjusting claims for insurers, including one related to a 2021 fatal Florida boat accident that resulted in a $66 million consent judgment against a policyholder.

  • June 03, 2025

    Conn. Judge Narrows McCarter's Defenses In $22M Loan Suit

    A Connecticut state court trimmed McCarter & English LLP's defenses in a $22.3 million suit over its role crafting loans for recreational improvements in a Long Island, New York, town, saying the firm cannot pursue a comparative negligence defense but can proceed with its fraud argument.

  • June 03, 2025

    The Law360 400: A Look At The Top 100 Firms

    A rebound in client work sent the nation’s largest law firms into growth mode last year, driving a wave of hiring, mergers and strategic moves that reshaped the top tier of the Law360 400. Here's a preview of the 100 firms with the largest U.S. attorney headcounts.

  • June 02, 2025

    Insurance Experts Examine AI's Challenges For Underwriting

    Academics, attorneys and insurance industry officials took a look at the myriad ways artificial intelligence could affect the "insurance value chain," as one conference panelist put it, across claims, litigation and underwriting, including the coverage of AI-related occurrences themselves.

Expert Analysis

  • An Update On Legal Issues In The Drone Market

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    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.

  • Key Insurance Implications Of Hawaii's Historic GHG Ruling

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    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.

  • Use The Right Kind Of Feedback To Help Gen Z Attorneys

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    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.

  • Congress Can And Must Enact A Supreme Court Ethics Code

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    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.

  • State Of The States' AI Legal Ethics Landscape

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    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.

  • Insurance Likely Kept Swift Out Of The Woods After Vienna

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    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.

  • Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: September Lessons

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    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.

  • 3 Coverage Tips As 2nd Circ. 'Swipes Left' On Tinder Claim

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    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.

  • What To Know About Insurance Coverage For Antitrust Risks

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    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.

  • Finding Coverage For Online Retail Privacy Class Actions

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    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.

  • What We Know From Early Cyberinsurance Rulings

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    Recent cyber disruption incidents, like the Crowdstrike outage and the CDK Global cyberattack this summer, highlight the necessity of understanding legal interpretations of cyberinsurance coverage — an area in which there has been little litigation thus far, say Peter Halprin and Rebecca Schwarz at Haynes Boone.

  • 6 Considerations To Determine If A Cyber Incident Is Material

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recent guidance on material cybersecurity incidents covers a range of ransomware scenarios, from a company paying a sum and regaining operations to recovering payment via cyberinsurance, but makes it clear that no single factor determines whether a cybersecurity incident is material, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.

  • Insuring Lender's Baseball Bet Leads To Major League Dispute

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    In RockFence v. Lloyd's, a California federal court seeks to define who qualifies as a professional baseball player for purposes of an insurance coverage payout, providing an illuminating case study of potential legal issues arising from baseball service loans, say Marshall Gilinsky and Seán McCabe at Anderson Kill.