Property

Expert Analysis

• Embracing ESG: United Natural Foods GC Talks Bottom Line

  

  In prioritizing environmental, social and governance initiatives as strategic value drivers, corporate general counsel can leverage meaningful ESG progress to benefit both the business's bottom line and the wider world, says Jill Sutton at United Natural Foods.

• Ruling Rightly Sends COVID Biz Interruption Question To Jury

  

  After a string of insurer coronavirus coverage wins on dispositive motions, a Missouri federal court's ruling this week in favor of the policyholder in K.C. Hopps v. Cincinnati Insurance places the decision-making responsibility about the facts and science in COVID-19 business interruption cases back where it belongs — with a jury, say attorneys at Pillsbury.

• Policyholder Outlook Following UK Biz Interruption Test Case

  

  In the nine months since the U.K. Supreme Court ruled in favor of policyholders in the Financial Conduct Authority’s test case on insurance coverage for COVID-19 businesses interruption claims, similar lawsuits filed against insurers show that a positive outcome for insureds is not guaranteed, say Peter Sharp and Paul Mesquitta at Morgan Lewis.

• Justice Gap Demands Look At New Legal Service Models

  

  Current restrictions on how lawyers structure their businesses stand in the way of meaningful access to justice for many Americans, so states should follow the lead of Utah and Florida and test out innovative law firm business models through regulatory sandboxes, says Zachariah DeMeola at the Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System.

• Lessons From 3rd Circ. COVID Biz Interruption Ruling

  

  The Third Circuit's recent DiAnoia's v. Motorists Mutual Insurance decision, directing district courts to reevaluate their remand of three pandemic-related business interruption cases to state courts, holds a lesson that determining Declaratory Judgment Act jurisdiction requires a rigorous analysis of all factors, says Regen O'Malley at Gordon Rees.

• What 5th Circ. Ruling Means For Insurers' Post-Award Liability

  

  The Fifth Circuit's recent decision in Randel v. Travelers, holding that an insurer's timely preappraisal payment did not extinguish its liability to its insured, highlights the importance of thoroughness and accuracy in initial loss inspections, says ​​​​​​​Karl Schulz at Cozen O'Connor.

• Insurance Commissioner's Agenda: Del. Tackles Mental Health

  

  Delaware Insurance Commissioner Trinidad Navarro highlights the state's efforts to achieve insurance coverage parity for mental health care by confronting systemic stigma and penalizing disparate and restrictive insurance determinations.

• Key Takeaways From The NAIC Summer National Meeting

  

  Stephanie Duchene and Kara Baysinger at Willkie highlight what insurance practitioners should know about top industry priorities from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ recent national meeting, including climate-related risk, diversity and inclusion, and technological innovation.

• New Fla. Atty Fee Law May Be Boon To Property Insurers

  

  A new Florida law designed to curb property insurance litigation should add some balance to a historically hostile environment for insurers by shifting the onus onto policyholders to prove entitlement to attorney fees, say attorneys at Zelle.

• Embracing ESG: AIG Counsel Talks SEC Risk Alert

  

  As the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission responds to the changing landscape on environmental, social and corporate governance investing, including with its recent risk alert, it is imperative that the regulator take a measured approach, says Kate Fuentes at AIG.

• Insurance Commissioner's Agenda: Wis. Tackles Climate Risk

  

  Wisconsin Commissioner of Insurance Mark Afable talks about educating consumers on potential climate-risk coverage gaps and mitigation efforts, and encouraging insurers to recognize the latter in underwriting, in the face of increasingly frequent and severe weather disasters.

• How The 'Rocket Docket' Continues To Roar Through COVID

  

  While the Eastern District of Virginia rocket docket is no longer the nation's fastest civil trial court, it continues to keep litigation moving efficiently, with pandemic protocols resulting in new benefits for litigants, says Robert Tata at Hunton.

• It's Time To Upgrade Our Attorney Licensure Rules

  

  The bar exam does a poor job of testing the skills employers expect from new lawyers, and those who pass the bar can practice indefinitely without independent oversight, so states should consider alternative means for assuring competence and personal stability for new as well as experienced lawyers, says David Friedman at Willamette University.