General Liability

  • July 23, 2024

    Insurers Must Defend Well Driller In Lead Contamination Suit

    Insurers must defend a drilling company accused of contaminating a rental property's water supply with dangerous levels of lead, a Montana federal court ruled, saying they haven't shown the underlying claims fall outside the policies' insuring agreements or are otherwise excluded from coverage.

  • July 22, 2024

    Zurich Unit Needn't Cover Motorcyclist's Crash Dispute

    The Third Circuit affirmed a Zurich unit's win Monday in a dispute over coverage for a boiler company sued by a motorcyclist injured in a crash with a company employee, saying not only are the motorcyclist's claims untimely, but the company's policy excludes coverage for the accident.

  • July 22, 2024

    Nationwide Seeks Travelers' Aid In Hot Tub Illness Row

    Nationwide told a California federal court a Travelers unit must help defend a condominium association in an underlying lawsuit brought by a resident alleging he needed a double lung transplant because of hot tub contaminants, arguing Travelers' pollution exclusion and fungi or bacteria exclusion didn't apply.

  • July 19, 2024

    Hanover Tries To Delay $13.4M Award Over Home-Care Death

    Massachusetts-based Hanover Insurance Group says it should not be forced to pay a $13.4 million judgment awarded by a jury in March to the family of a man who died in a Connecticut group home until the home operator's appeal is decided, in a motion filed in New Haven Superior Court.

  • July 19, 2024

    Mich. Panel OKs Nonresidents To Seek No-Fault Tort Damages

    Nonresidents of Michigan or individuals whose vehicles aren't registered in Michigan can still recover tort damages for their in-state auto injuries under Michigan's no-fault insurance law, a state appeals court ruled, even if they violate a statute requiring proper no-fault insurance if they stay in Michigan for over 30 days.

  • July 19, 2024

    Regeneron Rips DOJ's FCA Suit As 'Divorced From Reality'

    Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. has told a Massachusetts federal judge that a False Claims Act suit brought by the U.S. Department of Justice claiming the company withheld information about a drug's average sales price was "divorced from reality" and the practice the government was complaining about was commonplace.

  • July 18, 2024

    Insurer Settles Coverage Row Over Wash. Day Care Sex Abuse

    Following a contested nearly $25 million settlement agreement, an insurance coverage dispute arising from the molestation of children at an Olympia, Washington, day care center has been resolved, a Washington federal court announced Thursday.

  • July 18, 2024

    Towers Watson's Bump-Up Appeal Lifts Policyholder Hopes

    Towers Watson's request that the Fourth Circuit reject a lower court decision freeing its insurers from paying out $54 million in directors and officers coverage has raised policyholders' hopes that a favorable ruling will clarify the reach of so-called bump-up exclusions.

  • July 18, 2024

    Tobacco Cooperative's $10M Coverage Suit Trimmed

    A North Carolina federal court pared down a tobacco cooperative's suit accusing its excess insurer of wrongfully refusing to pay up to the full $10 million policy limit for defense and settlement costs associated with underlying suits brought by member growers.

  • July 18, 2024

    Split 9th Circ. Panel Backs Restoring DHS Bond Rule

    A Ninth Circuit panel upheld a Department of Homeland Security rule barring some immigration surety firms from posting bonds for detained border-crossers Thursday, saying the rule's 2021 ratification by current Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas cured any defects with its original introduction in 2020.

  • July 18, 2024

    9th Circ. Weighs Nevada High Court Cert. In Subrogation Suit

    The Ninth Circuit on Thursday suggested it might certify a question to the Nevada Supreme Court over whether an insurer can subrogate against another carrier if an underlying, covered settlement doesn't exceed their combined limits, questioning the extent they should be persuaded by two unpublished Nevada Supreme Court decisions.

  • July 18, 2024

    Vineyard Says Insurer Owes Coverage For $50M Of Bad Wine

    A vineyard is blaming its excess insurer for refusing to contribute to a settlement after an underlying lawsuit asserted more than $50 million in claims against it for allegedly damaging over 300,000 cases of wine, according to a case moved to Washington federal court.

  • July 18, 2024

    FEMA Flood Standard A Step In Right Direction, Experts Say

    The Biden Administration's decision last week to continue implementing a stronger flood protection standard is being welcomed by experts as a way to improve resiliency, even though the rule likely won't have a significant direct effect on flood insurance.

  • July 18, 2024

    General Liability Cases To Watch In 2nd Half Of 2024

    Insurance experts are keeping their eyes peeled on a number of pending commercial general liability cases, including a potential ruling from the Third Circuit on the duty to defend a hotel accused of participating in sex trafficking and a Tenth Circuit decision on the application of an absolute pollution exclusion. Here, Law360 looks at the general liability cases to watch in the second half of 2024.

  • July 18, 2024

    Former Md. Insurance Head Reflects On Return To DLA Piper

    Kathleen Birrane returned to DLA Piper to lead the firm's U.S. insurance regulatory practice after four years as Maryland's insurance commissioner, resuming her role in private practice with years of experience working across state and international lines on emerging issues. Law360 spoke with Birrane by email about her career.

  • July 18, 2024

    Colo. Injury Firm, Insurer End Bad Faith Suit

    Two months after a Colorado personal injury firm and insurer settled a dispute over coverage of litigation costs, the two sides have agreed to dismiss the firm's lawsuit against a former firm attorney accused of trying to steal its entire class action department.

  • July 18, 2024

    Insurance Litigation Week In Review

    An Amazon insurer was given the green light to pursue its subrogation claims, a former Georgia insurance commissioner was sentenced to 3½ years for his kickback scheme, 3M couldn't get a quick win in its combat earplugs multidistrict litigation coverage dispute, and an electronics components maker lost its $100 million COVID-19 coverage appeal. Here, Law360 takes a look at this week's top insurance news.

  • July 18, 2024

    Ga. Mineral Co. Can't Nab Win In Row Over Talc Suit Coverage

    A Georgia federal judge declined to grant a win to a mineral products company trying to compel a Travelers unit to defend it against an underlying suit claiming that it supplied asbestos-containing talc products.

  • July 17, 2024

    Conn. Enacts Legislation To Support Captive Insurers

    Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont signed into law an act aimed at furthering the state's commitment to the captive insurance industry, building upon the legislative efforts of recent years that have positioned Connecticut as the leading domicile for captives.

  • July 17, 2024

    3M Denied Quick Win In Earplug MDL Coverage Dispute

    3M and its subsidiary Aearo Technologies can't get a quick win in their quest for coverage for hundreds of millions of dollars in defense costs paid in connection with underlying litigation alleging that their combat earplugs failed to protect the hearing of service members and veterans, a Delaware state court ruled.

  • July 17, 2024

    NY Inn Settles Coverage For Law Grad Shower Film Extortion

    The owner and manager of an Albany, New York, Hampton Inn where a law school graduate said she was secretly filmed showering, then blackmailed, settled with its insurers in a Georgia federal dispute over defense coverage of the woman's suit against them.

  • July 16, 2024

    Praying Coach's School Faces Skeptical Judge In Fee Fight

    A Washington state appellate judge struggled Tuesday to follow a school district's argument that its insurer should cover a nearly $1.8 million legal bill for a praying football coach's U.S. Supreme Court win, pointing to a policy exclusion for certain adverse judgments.

  • July 16, 2024

    Development Co. Says Chubb Unit Must Cover Defense Costs

    An economic development company told a Delaware federal court its insurer must cover the over $7.6 million it has incurred while facing a government agency's allegations that it violated the False Claims Act in connection with the agency's claim that one of its subcontractors overbilled the agency.

  • July 16, 2024

    4th Circ. Rejects 'Untimely' Redo Request In Coverage Fight

    The Fourth Circuit has flatly rejected a request to reconsider whether an insurer must cover the maker of a wood treatment product in a suit over a man's cancer diagnosis following decades of exposure to the chemical, calling the motion "untimely."

  • July 16, 2024

    Pet Store Chain Says AIG Unit Must Cover BIPA Claims

    An AIG unit is misconstruing policy exclusions in refusing to defend Pet Supplies Plus in a class action alleging violations of Illinois' Biometric Information Privacy Act, the pet store chain told a Michigan federal judge.

Expert Analysis

  • Forecasting A Rise In 11th Circ. State Court Class Actions

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    Two recent opinions from the Eleventh Circuit have created an unusual landscape that may result in a substantial increase of class action litigation in state courts, particularly in Florida, that will be unable to utilize removal tools such as the Class Action Fairness Act, says Alec Schultz at Hilgers Graben.

  • Readying Companies For PFAS Regulation And Liability

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    Managing the uptick in regulatory oversight of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances and the potential civil liability for companies will require action now, from performing audits and reviewing insurance coverage to considering the Texas two-step merger method, say attorneys at Haynes and Boone.

  • Contra Proferentem Will Remain Alive And Well In NY

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    Although a recent Law360 guest article argues that a New York state court's decision in Brooklyn Union Gas v. Century Indemnity creates a blanket exception to the principle that contractual ambiguities are construed against the drafter, leading appellate decisions suggest that the exception would only be applied under narrow circumstances, say attorneys at Pillsbury.

  • Pa. Cannabis Banking Law Won't Allay Finance Industry Fears

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    Though a new Pennsylvania law allows financial institutions and insurers to provide services to the state’s legal cannabis industry, it’s unlikely to assuage most financial industry operators’ fears of federal reprisal, and their reluctance to work with cannabis businesses will surely persist, says Michael Sampson at Leech Tishman.

  • NY Insurance Ruling Reveals Limits Of Contra Proferentem

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    A New York state court's decision in Brooklyn Union Gas v. Century Indemnity, finding that there's no need to construe an ambiguous policy against an insurer when the policyholder is a sophisticated company, shows that contesting the application of the contra proferentem rule is gaining more traction in courts, say John Ewell and Joanna Roberto at Gerber Ciano.

  • What Wis. Anti-Assignment Ruling Means For Policyholders

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    A Wisconsin state court's recent decision in Pepsi-Cola v. Employers Insurance Co. of Wausau makes pivotal the question of when a loss occurs, meaning that policyholders subject to anti-assignment clauses cannot simply rely on plain contractual language, say Brian Scarbrough and Daniel Ergas at Jenner & Block.

  • Taming Plaintiffs' Thriving 'Reptile' Tactics: How To Start

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    As rising social inflation increases the danger of plaintiffs attorneys' reptile tactics, which appeal to primal emotions instead of logic, defendants should carefully consider 22 strategies that can be employed in pretrial strategy or via traditional courtroom tools, say Scott Seaman and Diane Webster at Hinshaw.

  • Taming Plaintiffs' Thriving 'Reptile' Tactics: Why It's Time

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    As insurers and corporate policyholders are looking down the dangerous double barrel of price level and social inflation, it's important to examine what they can do to contain a leading driver of social inflation — plaintiffs lawyers' reptile theory, which positions jurors as guardians against dangers for society, say Scott Seaman and Diane Webster at Hinshaw.

  • Recent Decisions Are Eroding All-Risk Insurance Coverage

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    All-risk insurance coverage is under siege by insurers' broad interpretations of established exclusions, and recent decisions in New Jersey and New Hampshire have shown that courts may not protect coverage despite the policies' text and intent, says Nicholas Insua at Reed Smith.

  • The Insurance Industry's Growing Potential Role In Gun Safety

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    This year has seen two unprecedented events — the passage of a municipal requirement for gun owners' liability insurance, and the Sandy Hook class action settlement — that may motivate insurers to help regulate firearms, but several reasons could hold them back, says Peter Kochenburger at UConn.

  • Opioid Case May Guide Climate Change Insurance Suits

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    A recent opioid case in California federal court that defined "accident" narrowly is based on allegations analogous to those in many climate change lawsuits, and may help insurers assess whether they have a duty to defend, say Dennis Anderson and Nick Dolejsi at Zelle.

  • 2 Calif. Insurance Decisions Question Boundaries Of Fortuity

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    Last month, California state and federal courts revisited fortuity issues in two decisions that show how the occurrence requirement and the California Insurance Code's prohibition on coverage for an insured's willful acts can be exceedingly difficult to apply to lawsuits alleging novel legal theories, say Jodi Green and Sophia von Bergen at Miller Nash.

  • Insurer Implications As 3 Climate Suits Return To State Courts

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    Three federal circuit courts recently remanded climate change lawsuits brought by state and local governments against major energy corporations back to state courts, where plaintiffs are more likely to succeed, thus significantly increasing their insurers' and reinsurers' exposure to defense costs and judgments, say José Umbert and Jason Reeves at Zelle.