General Liability
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December 09, 2024
Insurer Asks 7th Circ. To Review Faulty Work Coverage Ruling
An insurer urged the Seventh Circuit on Monday to review a ruling requiring it to defend an architectural design firm and its owner against faulty work claims seeking more than $3.4 million in damages, saying the ruling is contrary to an Illinois Supreme Court decision involving the same issues.
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December 09, 2024
Justices Won't Hear Case Over Medical Cost Reasonability
The U.S. Supreme Court said Monday it will not hear an appeal from a State Farm policyholder challenging what she's maintained is an ambiguous "reasonableness" standard for coverage of medical expenses under her auto policy, letting stand an Eleventh Circuit decision affirming the dismissal of her proposed class action.
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December 06, 2024
Judge Denies Publix Bid To Appeal Opioid Coverage Ruling
A Florida federal judge on Friday rejected Publix's request for a judgment that would have allowed it to immediately appeal a decision that said seven of its insurance policies didn't provide coverage for opioid lawsuits the grocery chain is facing.
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December 06, 2024
Two Firms To Rep CVS Investors In Benefit Unit Losses Suit
Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann LLP and Bleichmar Fonti & Auld LLP will co-lead a proposed class of investors in consolidated litigation alleging CVS Health Corp. hurt investors as it announced its benefit unit's unanticipated losses.
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December 05, 2024
Premium Concerns Centered In Calif. Reinsurance Hearing
California insurance regulators heard consumer concerns over high premiums during a public hearing Thursday as advocacy groups and insurance industry lobbyists offered thoughts on a proposal to allow insurers to pass down the cost of their own disaster coverage.
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December 05, 2024
UN Insurer Climate Risk Report Is Light On Details, Pros Say
A recent United Nations guide advising insurers on how they should plan for the risks associated with climate change offers a broad-level view of ways carriers can support net-zero goals, but experts say more detail is warranted for forthcoming reports.
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December 05, 2024
Insurance Litigation Week In Review
The Delaware Supreme Court will review 3M's bid for coverage in multidistrict litigation over defective earplugs, a California state appeals court relieved an insurer of covering a spa owner in an underlying sex abuse lawsuit, and a group of Hartford units said Proctor & Gamble isn't covered for underlying environmental lawsuits.
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December 05, 2024
Insurer Says Fake Adjuster Cost It $800K
An insurer told a Puerto Rico federal court that a lying and unlicensed adjuster and his company illegally stepped into a dispute with its insured, costing the carrier at least $800,000 while trying to compensate the territory's highway and transportation system for hurricane damages.
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December 04, 2024
No Coverage For P&G Environmental Claims, Insurers Say
A group of Hartford units told an Ohio federal court Wednesday they owe no coverage to Procter & Gamble Co. for three underlying lawsuits accusing the company of contaminating groundwater in New York, and for a separate warehouse fire in Michigan that caused the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to intervene.
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December 04, 2024
P&C Insurers Post $4.1B Underwriting Gain In Big Reversal
The U.S. property and casualty insurance market recorded a $4.1 billion net underwriting gain in the first nine months of 2024, according to a report issued Wednesday by global credit rating agency AM Best, which called the turnaround a significant improvement from the prior year's $32.1 billion loss.
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December 04, 2024
Panel Affirms CNA's Reading Of 'Control' In Abuse Exclusion
A CNA unit providing commercial insurance to a massage spa owed no defense to its owner and manager against claims the owner sexually assaulted three women, a California state appeals court ruled, in a case of first impression over the meaning of "care, custody or control" in an abuse exclusion.
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December 03, 2024
Pizza Chain Insurer Owes Share Of Salmonella Deal, Suit Says
An insurer told a Washington federal court that a Liberty Mutual subsidiary must contribute to a settlement reached by their mutual insured, a "take 'n' bake" pizza restaurant, arising out of allegations that customers purchased raw cookie dough tainted with Salmonella bacteria.
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December 03, 2024
Sanctions Stick Against Colorado Gear Seller And Its Attys
A Washington appellate court has upheld about $500,000 in sanctions against an equipment manufacturer and its former counsel, Sinars Slowikowski Tomaska LLP, for failing to disclose information in a dispute over a rock climber's fall at a Seattle gym — including a defense attorney's 38 visits to the accident site.
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December 03, 2024
AIG Unit Seeks Payback For $2.9M BJ's Injury Payouts
An AIG unit asked a New York federal court to force another insurer to cover at least part of the $2.9 million it spent settling two construction injury suits after ironworkers fell off ladders while building a Brooklyn, New York, BJ's Wholesale Club in 2014.
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December 03, 2024
Insurance Execs Charged With $250M Fake Policy Scheme
An insurance company and two executives issued bogus insurance policies purporting to offer over $250 million in coverage to companies and homeowners, according to an indictment announced by the Manhattan district attorney Tuesday.
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December 03, 2024
Del. Justices To Review 3M Earplug MDL Coverage Dispute
The Delaware Supreme Court agreed to review a lower court's finding that defense costs paid by 3M in underlying multidistrict litigation over the company's combat earplugs could not satisfy the self-insured retention of its subsidiary's insurance policies.
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December 03, 2024
Insurer Says No Coverage For Fishery's $2M Water Damage
An insurer told an Arizona federal court it owed no coverage to a seafood company embroiled in underlying litigation over more than $2 million in water damage, saying the fishmonger's splashing at its rental property wasn't accidental and its polices weren't in effect at the time.
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December 02, 2024
Insurer Says Telecom Co. Can't Ax Marshall Fire Coverage Suit
Liberty Mutual urged a Colorado federal court to allow it to proceed with a lawsuit against a Lumen Technologies subsidiary over coverage for underlying litigation linking the 2021 Marshall Fire to an unmoored telecommunications line, arguing that the insurer had clear standing to bring the suit.
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December 02, 2024
Motor Carrier Must Cover $6.7M Jet Engine Loss, Co. Says
A transportation company has told a Connecticut federal court that a subcontractor hired to transport a jet engine that was damaged en route to Alabama must defend and indemnify the company in an insurer's suit seeking to recover more than $6.7 million paid to the manufacturer of the engine.
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November 27, 2024
Co. Seeks $4.4M In Bad Faith Damages Over Developer Row
A collections company that was assigned insurance rights as part of settled, underlying litigation concerning a real estate development in Washington state told a federal court it's entitled to over $4.4 million in bad faith damages against an insurer, arguing the carrier prioritized its own interests ahead of its insured.
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November 27, 2024
No Coverage For Drywall Co. In Murder Suit, Insurer Says
An insurer said it has no duty to defend or indemnify a drywall company accused of negligently hiring a man who murdered a house cleaner in a home he was working on in Galveston County, telling a Texas federal court that several policy exclusions preclude coverage.
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November 26, 2024
Tort Report: Fla. Jury Delivers $141.5M Trucking Crash Verdict
A pending Pennsylvania Supreme Court case over Uber's so-called click-through arbitration agreements and a $141.5 million trucking crash verdict out of Florida lead Law360's Tort Report, which compiles recent personal injury and medical malpractice news that may have flown under the radar.
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November 26, 2024
CGL Carrier Seeks $1.2M In Inter-Insurer Injury Dispute
A general liability insurer told a Michigan federal court that a professional liability insurer owes $1.2 million toward a $1.5 million settlement reached in an underlying lawsuit involving their mutual insured, a cardiovascular practice located in a Detroit hospital, arguing that the professional liability policy covered the claim.
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November 26, 2024
7th Circ. Says Insurer Must Defend $3.4M Faulty Work Row
An architectural design firm's commercial general liability insurer must defend it and its owner against faulty work claims seeking more than $3.4 million in damages, the Seventh Circuit ruled, after the Illinois Supreme Court overturned prior appellate precedent siding with insurers in such disputes.
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November 26, 2024
Chemical Co. Demands Defense Coverage In PFAS Foam MDL
Specialty chemical company Clariant Corp. is suing five of its insurers in the North Carolina Business Court seeking defense costs in a host of underlying mass tort lawsuits over forever chemicals found in firefighting foam products.
Insurance Pros Are Grateful For These CGL Rulings This Year
Policyholder and insurer attorneys are thankful this holiday season for favorable rulings in a variety of commercial general liability disputes ranging from construction defect litigation to biometric privacy litigation, as well as for the opportunity to teach budding attorneys.
4 Federal Agencies Insurance Attys Must Watch Under Trump
As President-elect Donald Trump continues to build a cabinet for his second term in office, federal agencies are preparing for a transition to an administration that will de-emphasize regulation, which could result in fewer claims for insurers and more transactions for corporate policyholders, experts say. Here, Law360 takes a look at four federal agencies ripe for change that may have a ripple effect on insurance.
Meta MDL Suit May Be Preview Of Social Media Cos.' Fortunes
The Delaware suit by Meta's insurers to free them from defending numerous lawsuits alleging the company deliberately designed addicting platforms follows a familiar legal playbook, but may influence other social media companies' odds in similar suits in the pivotal jurisdiction.
Expert Analysis
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Teaching Your Witness To Beat The Freeze/Appease Response
In addition to fight-or-flight, witnesses may experience the freeze/appease response at trial or deposition — where they become a deer in headlights, agreeing with opposing counsel’s questions and damaging their credibility in the process — but certain strategies can help, says Bill Kanasky at Courtroom Sciences.
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What Insurers Need To Know About OFAC's Expanded FAQs
The Office of Foreign Assets Control's recently expanded insurance FAQs clarify how OFAC views insurance policies in a number of specific circumstances involving sanctioned parties, and make plain that sanctions compliance is the responsibility of all participants in the insurance ecosystem, including underwriters, brokers and agents, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.
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Nevada Justices Could Expand Scope Of Subrogation Claims
The Nevada Supreme Court's recent decision to hear North River Insurance v. James River Insurance could expand the scope of equitable subrogation claims in the state by aligning with the California standard, which doesn't require excess insurers to demonstrate damages, says Daniel Heidtke at Duane Morris.
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8 Tech Tips For Stress-Free Remote Depositions
Court reporter Kelly D’Amico shares practical strategies for attorneys to conduct remote depositions with ease and troubleshoot any issues that arise, as it seems deposition-by-Zoom is here to stay after the pandemic.
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4 Ways Attorneys Can Emotionally Prepare For Trial
In the course of litigation, trial lawyers face a number of scenarios that can incite an emotional response, but formulating a mental game plan in advance of trial can help attorneys stay cool, calm and collected in the moment, says Rachel Lary at Lightfoot Franklin.
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Presidential Campaign Errors Provide Lessons For Trial Attys
Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign employed numerous strategies that evidently didn’t land, and trial attorneys should take note, because voters and jurors are both decision-makers who are listening for how one’s case presentation would affect them personally, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.
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3 Policyholder Lessons From NY Bad Faith Ruling
A New York appellate court's recent decision finding that Rockefeller University alleged viable bad faith claims against its insurers reinforces the principle that insurers may not elevate their own economic interests over those of their insureds, say attorneys at Lowenstein Sandler.
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Notable Q3 Updates In Insurance Class Actions
Total loss valuation cases and labor depreciation cases dominated the past quarter of insurance class actions, with courts continuing to reject challenges to condition adjustments in the former, and a pro-insured trend persisting in the latter, say attorneys at BakerHostetler.
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Consider The Impact Of Election Stress On Potential Jurors
For at least the next few months, potential jurors may be working through anger and distrust stemming from the presidential election, and trial attorneys will need to assess whether those jurors are able to leave their political concerns at the door, says Ken Broda-Bahm at Persuasion Strategies.
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NC Ruling Takes Practical Approach To Duty-To-Defend Costs
In Murphy-Brown v. Ace American Insurance, a case of first impression, the North Carolina Business Court adopted the commonsense rationale of many state courts in holding that policyholders' defense costs should be deemed presumtively reasonable when a insurer breaches its duty to defend, say attorneys at McGuireWoods.
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What Hawaii High Court Got Right And Wrong In AIG Ruling
Though the Hawaii Supreme Court in its recent Aloha Petroleum v. National Union Fire Insurance decision correctly adopted the majority rule that recklessly caused harm is an accident for coverage purposes, it erred in its interpretation of the pollution exclusion by characterizing climate change as "traditional environmental pollution," say attorneys at Haynes Boone.
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7 Tips To Help Your Witness Be A Cross-Exam Heavyweight
Because jurors tend to pay a little more attention to cross-examination, attorneys should train their witnesses to strike a balance — making it tough for opposing counsel to make their side’s case, without coming across as difficult to the jury, says Ken Broda-Bahm at Persuasion Strategies.
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Key Insurance Implications Of Hawaii's Historic GHG Ruling
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.