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Insurance
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April 23, 2025
10th Circ. Says Lower Court Erred On Pollution Coverage
A Tenth Circuit panel determined Wednesday that absolute pollution exclusions in insurance policies unambiguously prevented a New Mexico property owner from obtaining coverage for underlying contamination litigation, reversing a decision by a district court and saying that court erred "in all key respects."
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April 23, 2025
Meta MDL Judge Doubts Insurers' Bid To Kick Fight To Del.
A California federal judge presiding over sprawling social media personal injury multidistrict litigation doubted on Wednesday insurers' arguments their multimillion-dollar coverage fight with Meta belongs in Delaware state court, questioning how moving the case would preserve judicial resources, while observing that Hartford's pre-litigation conduct may have been in bad faith.
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April 23, 2025
Texas Court Skeptical Of 'Death Star' Standing Argument
A Texas appellate judge asked the state Wednesday if it expected three of its largest cities to " wait for a thousand tiny cuts" before being allowed to challenge a bill nicknamed the "Death Star" by opponents, which they say infringe on their ability to manage their own affairs.
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April 23, 2025
Ex-Exec Says Centene Harassed Him Over Void Noncompete
A former vice president at Centene claims in a new Illinois federal court lawsuit that the company has engaged in a campaign of harassment, threats and bullying directed at him and his new employer, based on a noncompete agreement he alleges is void.
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April 23, 2025
Xcel Says Holding Co. Doesn't Belong In Colo. Wildfire Case
Xcel Energy Inc. told a Colorado state court it shouldn't be named as a defendant in consolidated litigation seeking to hold it and two subsidiaries liable for a 2021 wildfire, arguing that the plaintiffs couldn't show that the court retains personal jurisdiction over it.
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April 23, 2025
9th Circ. Asked To Modify Ruling In LA Port Co. Coverage Row
A Los Angeles port operator's insurer asked a three-judge panel in the Ninth Circuit to rethink part of its decision ordering a jury trial on the amount of defense costs the operator incurred while litigating pollution claims brought by the city, arguing they improperly relied on a depublished decision.
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April 23, 2025
Allstate Denied Appeal In Fla. Suit Involving 'Phantom' Vehicle
A Florida state appellate court Wednesday denied Allstate insurance company's appeal in a collision lawsuit involving a "phantom" car, saying witnesses' general denial of ever seeing the vehicle isn't enough to overcome the inference that it didn't exist.
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April 23, 2025
Insurer Says No Coverage For $7.8M Tornado Damage Suit
The insurer for a construction inspection company claimed it owed no coverage for a suit alleging the company overlooked deficiencies that contributed to a $7.8 million tornado loss, telling a New Jersey federal court the policyholder had no coverage for professional services gone wrong.
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April 23, 2025
No Coverage For Shopping Mall In Shooting Suit, Insurer Says
Scottsdale Insurance Co. has told a Florida federal court that the owner of part of a shopping plaza isn't owed coverage for a $1 million personal injury lawsuit brought by a man who was shot in the parking lot of the shopping center, arguing that the incident didn't occur on the covered premises.
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April 22, 2025
Imerys Ch. 11 Plan Trial Starts With Claims Rep Uncertainty
Several critical legal questions remained open Tuesday in the Chapter 11 cases of talc producer Imerys Talc America and its affiliates as a five-day confirmation trial kicked off, but the Delaware bankruptcy judge presiding over the proceedings said they could begin despite the question marks surrounding the appointment of a future talc claims representative for a foreign co-debtor of Imerys.
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April 22, 2025
Insurer Says No Coverage For $668K Housing Funds Dispute
An insurer says it owes no coverage to a low-income housing nonprofit in an underlying dispute involving a Washington county that seeks to claw back nearly $668,000 that was allegedly paid out to ineligible recipients.
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April 22, 2025
Hartford, Policyholders Agree To End Damage Payment Row
Two Hartford units and their policyholders reached a settlement in a proposed class action claiming the insurers underpaid property losses by improperly withholding labor costs as depreciation when calculating the actual cash value of claims, the parties told a Connecticut federal court.
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April 22, 2025
Insurer Skirts Bad Faith Claim In $60M Liposuction Death Row
The professional liability insurer for a Georgia cosmetic surgery provider didn't act in bad faith in handling a liposuction patient death claim that eventually led to a $60 million judgment, a Utah federal court ruled, rejecting arguments that the insurer breached its duties.
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April 22, 2025
NJ AG Pushes To Revive RICO Case Against Power Broker
New Jersey urged a state appellate court to revive its sprawling racketeering indictment against Garden State power broker George E. Norcross III, politically connected attorneys and others, arguing that the trial court undertook a review that doesn't exist in criminal practice.
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April 22, 2025
Insurer Urges 11th Circ. To Nix Law Firm Malpractice Coverage
An insurance company has urged the Eleventh Circuit to revive its lawsuit seeking a ruling that it does not have to defend Georgia law firm Fellows LaBriola LLC in a malpractice case because of a misappropriation exclusion included in the firm's policy.
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April 22, 2025
Insurer Gets $16M Coverage Suit Stayed For NY Court Appeal
A New York federal court paused an insurer's dispute over coverage for a $16 million default judgment entered against its insureds in a wrongful death suit due to an ongoing appeal concerning the vacatur of that judgment.
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April 21, 2025
Calif. Judges Who Lost Homes Sue LA Over Palisades Fire
A California federal judge and a retired federal magistrate judge whose homes were destroyed in the Pacific Palisades wildfire have sued the city of Los Angeles over the deadly inferno, saying two water reservoirs drained by the city's water department for repairs prior to the blaze substantially caused their losses.
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April 21, 2025
Toyota Accused Of Illegally Selling Driver Data To Progressive
Toyota has for years been using tracking devices to collect drivers' driving habits and other personal information and selling the driver data to third parties like auto insurer Progressive without consent, a putative class action filed Monday in Texas federal court alleges.
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April 21, 2025
Colo. Justices Say Insurer Can't Escape 'Economic Loss' Rule
Colorado Supreme Court justices on Monday said an insurer can't escape an economic loss rule that precludes parties from bringing tort claims over a breach of duty arising from a contract, holding that the rule has no exception for willful and wanton conduct and tossing the insurer's negligence claim over a restaurant fire.
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April 21, 2025
Exclusion Bars Coverage For Trade Secrets Suit, Insurer Says
An engineering firm's directors and officers insurer told a Nebraska federal court Monday it should owe no coverage for a settled lawsuit that accused the firm of conspiring to poach a rail contractor's employees and clients, citing an exclusion relating to the misappropriation of trade secrets.
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April 21, 2025
Real Estate Co.'s $1.9M Title Insurance Suit Gets Tossed
A real estate company could not show that its suit seeking $1.9 million in coverage for a title defect that limited access to its San Diego industrial property belonged in federal court, a California judge found Monday, tossing the case.
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April 21, 2025
Justices Nix Appraiser's Petition Seeking Arbitral Immunity
An insurance appraiser failed Monday to get the U.S. Supreme Court to define what "arbitration" actually means under the Federal Arbitration Act, seeking immunity after a Colorado state jury found he fraudulently inflated a $1.6 million appraisal award against a Travelers unit that was ultimately vacated.
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April 21, 2025
Taiwan Installs Tariff Relief Measures For Exporters
Certain Taiwanese businesses that export goods to the U.S. will have access to lower loan interest rates and waived exporter insurance fees if they can show they are heavily impacted by U.S. tariffs, Taiwan's Ministry of Finance said Monday.
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April 21, 2025
Calif. Homeowners Say Insurers Colluded To Limit Coverage
California property owners affected by the Los Angeles wildfires accused over 300 insurers of conspiring to eliminate competition in the marketplace, forcing consumers to instead obtain fire insurance from the state's insurer of last resort, according to two lawsuits filed in state court.
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April 21, 2025
Insurers Clash Over Coverage In Racetrack Injury Suit
Acuity Insurance LLC wants a Pennsylvania federal court to join two other insurers to its defense of a client accused of designing inadequate safety barriers at a Lancaster County raceway, claiming the other companies had wrongly declined coverage for subsidiaries of the insured.
Expert Analysis
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Opinion
Lawsuits Shouldn't Be Shadow Assets For Foreign Capital
Third-party litigation financing amplifies inefficiencies from litigation and facilitates national exposure to foreign influence in the U.S. justice system, so full disclosure of financing arrangements should be required as a matter of institutional integrity, says Roland Eisenhuth at the American Property Casualty Insurance Association.
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How To Accelerate Your Post-Attorney Career Transition
Professionals seeking to transition to nonattorney careers may encounter skepticism as nontraditional candidates, but there are opportunities for thought leadership and to leverage speaking and writing to accelerate a post-attorney career transition, say Janet Falk at Falk Communications and Evgeny Efremkin at Toronto Metropolitan University.
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Series
Law School's Missed Lessons: Be An Indispensable Associate
While law school teaches you to research, write and think critically, it often overlooks the professional skills you will need to make yourself an essential team player when transitioning from a summer to full-time associate, say attorneys at Stinson.
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Series
Birding Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Observing and documenting birds in their natural habitats fosters patience, sharpens observational skills and provides moments of pure wonder — qualities that foster personal growth and enrich my legal career, says Allison Raley at Arnall Golden.
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Series
Adapting To Private Practice: From DOJ Leadership To BigLaw
The move from government service to private practice can feel like changing one’s identity, but as someone who has left the U.S. Department of Justice twice, I’ve learned that a successful transition requires patience, effort and the realization that the rewards of practicing law don’t come from one particular position, says Richard Donoghue at Pillsbury.
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In-House Expert Testimony Is Tricky, But Worth Considering
Litigation counsel often reject the notion of designating in-house personnel to provide expert opinion testimony at trial, but dismissing them outright can result in a significant missed opportunity, say David Ben-Meir at Ben-Meir Law and Martin Pitha at Lillis Pitha.
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Tracking Changes To AI Evidence Under Federal Rules
As the first quarter of 2025 draws to a close, important changes to the Federal Rules of Evidence regarding the use of artificial intelligence in the courtroom are on the horizon, including how to handle evidence that is a product of machine learning, say attorneys at Debevoise.
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Reconciling 2 Smoke Coverage Cases From California
As highlighted by a California Department of Insurance bulletin clarifying the effect of two recent decisions on insurance coverage, the February state appellate ruling denying coverage for property damage from smoke, ash and soot should be viewed as an outlier, say attorneys at Reed Smith.
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Law Firm Executive Orders Create A Legal Ethics Minefield
Recent executive orders targeting BigLaw firms create ethical dilemmas — and raise the specter of civil or criminal liability — for the government attorneys tasked with implementing them and for the law firms that choose to make agreements with the administration, say attorneys at Buchalter.
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Firms Must Embrace Alternative Billing Models Or Fall Behind
As artificial intelligence tools eliminate inefficiencies and the Big Four accounting firms enter the legal market, law firms that pivot from the entrenched billable hour model to outcomes-based pricing will see a distinct competitive advantage, says attorney William Brewer.
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Key Insurance Issues Likely To Arise From NY Superfund Law
The recently enacted New York Climate Change Superfund Act imposes a massive $75 billion in liabilities on energy companies in the fossil fuel industry, which can be expected to look to their insurers for coverage, raising a slew of coverage issues both old and new, say attorneys at Wiley.
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How Attorneys Can Master The Art Of On-Camera Presence
As attorneys are increasingly presented with on-camera opportunities, they can adapt their traditional legal skills for video contexts — such as virtual client meetings, marketing content or media interviews — by understanding the medium and making intentional adjustments, says Kerry Barrett.
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Series
Baseball Fantasy Camp Makes Me A Better Lawyer
With six baseball fantasy experiences under my belt, I've learned time and again that I didn't make the wrong career choice, but I've also learned that baseball lessons are life lessons, and I'm a better lawyer for my time at St. Louis Cardinals fantasy camp, says Scott Felder at Wiley.
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Opinion
Airlines Should Follow Treaty On Prompt Crash Payouts
In the wake of the recent crash of a Delta Air Lines flight during landing in Toronto, it is vital for air carriers and their insurers to understand how the Montreal Convention's process for immediate passenger compensation can avoid years of costly litigation and reputational damage for companies, says Robert Alpert at International Crisis Response.
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How Fla. Is Floating A Raft Of Bills To Stem Insurance Woes
Proposed reforms that follow a report skewering Florida's insurance industry offer a step in the right direction in providing relief for property owners, despite some limitations, say attorneys at Farah & Farah.