Insurance, Commercial Real Estate

Do Liability Policies, Particularly Pollution Liability Insurance Policies, Exclude Coverage for All Injunctions? The Fifth...

by Robert S. Sanoff | Foley Hoag LLP - Environmental Law on 5/22/2013

The Fifth Circuit handed down an important decision last week, Louisiana Generating LLC v. Illinois Union Insurance Company, clarifying the scope of coverage under a Premises Pollution Liability Insurance Policy. The...more

Weekly Law Resume - May 16, 2013: Insurance Coverage – Duty to Defend – Vacant Property

by David L. Blinn | Low, Ball & Lynch on 5/22/2013

Travelers Property Cas. Co. of America v. Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles - Court of Appeal, Second District (April 17, 2013) - Most insurers do not like to insure empty buildings. Consequently,...more

Can an Intervening Insurance Company Sue for Breach of Contract?

by Peter Bauman - Senior Associate at Tharpe &... on 5/22/2013

If a party in litigation has a default judgment entered against it, can its insurance company still file a motion to intervene and use the same defenses that would have been available to the insured if not procedurally barred...more

Defense Cost Analysis in Complex Environmental Fee Claims

by David J. McMahon | Barger & Wolen on 5/21/2013

Introduction - Many of our litigation management audits involve complex environmental cleanup cases. In these cases, it is important to first evaluate the underlying matter, including the fact patterns of the various...more

Real World - May 2013: Mind the gap – insurance issues for tenant fit-out works

by Navpreet Janduar | Dechert LLP on 5/20/2013

Imagine the following scenario; your company has acquired a lease of a prime piece of real estate to accommodate its fast expanding business. The building’s footprint lies in the heart of the city’s commercial centre. The...more

Insurance Recovery Law -- May 16, 2013

by Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP on 5/17/2013

In This Issue: Prepare For A Storm of Lawsuits; To Ensure Coverage, Read Policy Carefully; and Ticketmaster Wins Reversal, Possible Coverage For Class Action Over Ticket Fees ...more

Court Adheres to Specific Definition of “Designated Premises”; Holds Policy Cancellation Does Not Preclude Rescission

by Daniel Bryer | Sedgwick LLP on 5/13/2013

In Seneca Ins. Co. v. Cimran Co., — N.Y.S.2d –, 2013 WL 1405231 (App. Div. 1st Dep’t 2013), the New York appeals court granted the insurer’s motion for summary judgment, declaring that it had no duty to defend and indemnify...more

New Laws Regarding Construction Defects

by Cronin, Fried, Sekiya, Kekina & Fairbanks on 5/9/2013

Have you been involved in an accident on a construction site in Hawaii? If so, a ruling from Hawaii’s Court of Appeals may be relevant. ...more

Capitol Report: Property Insurance Bill Creating Citizens Clearinghouse Passes 2013 Florida Legislature

by Kelly Cruz-Brown | Carlton Fields on 5/8/2013

Committee Substitute for Senate Bill 1770 (CS/SB 1770) passed by the 2013 Florida Legislature creates a “keep-out” clearinghouse to reduce the size and type of exposures insured by Citizens Property Insurance Corporation...more

Senate Bill 814 Proposes Sweeping and Retroactive Changes to Environmental Claims Handling in Oregon

by Molly Eckman | Cozen O'Connor on 5/8/2013

On March 13, 2013, the Oregon legislature introduced Senate Bill 814 to create sweeping reforms on environmental claims handling regulations and available remedies for insureds facing liability for cleanup of contaminated...more

Policyholders Beware: Insurers Relying on Anti-Concurrent Causation Clauses to Defeat Coverage in the Aftermath of Superstorm...

by Joseph Jean, Steven Morris | Lowenstein Sandler LLP on 5/7/2013

To the dismay of most New York business owners who suffered property damage from Superstorm Sandy, insurers are taking the position that only flood losses occurred and businesses that did not pay an additional premium for...more

Massachusetts Mandates Prompt Investigation, Encourages Insurers to Offer Deadline Extensions to Bombing Victims

by Richard Bennett | Cozen O'Connor on 5/3/2013

On Monday of this week, the Massachusetts’s Division of Insurance issued a bulletin mandating prompt investigation of business interruption, property damage and medical insurance claims by policyholders victimized by the...more

The “Occurrence” Debate Continues: Pennsylvania and North Dakota Edition

by Aaron Mandel, Stevi Raab | Sedgwick LLP on 4/30/2013

As noted in our previous installment of CDCQ, the “occurrence” issue is one of the most hotly litigated topics in construction defect coverage cases. This last quarter was no exception. Two recent cases addressing this issue...more

Hurricane Sandy's Civil Authority Issues Bear Watching by Reinsurers

by Seth Jackson | Zelle Hofmann Voelbel & Mason LLP on 4/16/2013

As both insurers and reinsurers are well aware by now, the destructive path left by Hurricane Sandy in many Northeast states such as New York, Connecticut, and New Jersey was devastating. To date, reports have estimated...more

Superstorm Sandy: Multiple Occurrences Could Help Maximize Coverage

by Joseph Jean, Matthew Stockwell | Lowenstein Sandler LLP on 4/15/2013

Superstorm Sandy devastated the east coast last October, causing more than $70 billion in damage to New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. Thousands of businesses suffered extensive property damage to their buildings, contents...more

Your CGL and Property Insurance May Not Cover All The Property You Think It Should

by Chandra Lantz on 4/13/2013

Typical CGL policies state that they cover damage to property “to which this insurance applies.” CGL policies commonly exclude from coverage property owned or rented by the insured, property rented by the insured, and...more

Calif. Plumbs The Depths Of Water Damage Exclusions

by Jose Umbert | Zelle Hofmann Voelbel & Mason LLP on 4/12/2013

A recent decision by the California Court of Appeal confirms the willingness of courts in California to enforce exclusions for water damage in property policies, thus precluding coverage for the policyholders’ alleged...more

Superstorm Sandy Is Causing New York and New Jersey Legislators to Reconsider Passing Legislation that Would Establish a Private...

by Melissa Brill, Kellyn Muller | Cozen O'Connor on 4/5/2013

Policyholders in New York and New Jersey presently have no private right of action against insurance companies for alleged violations of each state’s respective statutory claim handling guidelines – New York’s Unfair Claim...more

Supreme Court of Florida Holds That Economic Loss Doctrine Applies Only to Product Liability Cases

by Alison Finnegan, Gordon S. Woodward | Schnader Harrison Segal & Lewis LLP on 4/4/2013

In a recent decision likely to significantly expand the use of tort law in areas previously restricted to contract law, the Supreme Court of Florida limited application of the economic loss doctrine to product liability...more

Terrorism Insurance Redux

by Rick Jones | Dechert LLP on 4/3/2013

Terrorism insurance has been boring for the past several years. It risks becoming not boring. In the lee of the terrorism attack of 9/11, the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act, or TRIA, was rapidly passed by the Congress and...more

Policyholders Beware: Insurers Relying on Anti-Concurrent Causation Clauses to Defeat Coverage in the Aftermath of Superstorm

by Joseph Jean, Steven Morris | Lowenstein Sandler LLP on 4/2/2013

To the dismay of most New York business owners who suffered property damage from Superstorm Sandy, insurers are taking the position that only flood losses occurred and businesses that did not pay an additional premium for...more

New Jersey Establishes a Mediation Program for Open Superstorm Sandy Insurance Claims, Notice of Which Must Be Provided to...

by Richard Bennett | Cozen O'Connor on 3/29/2013

New Jersey has now joined New York in instituting a voluntary mediation program for insured victims of Superstorm Sandy with “open and unresolved first-party insurance claims.” The program became operative with the issuance...more

Real Estate Tip – Casualty Loss: High Insurance Deductibles Can Inflate Common Area Maintenance Charges

by Richard Smith | Bernstein Shur on 3/29/2013

A single casualty loss can affect both the tenant’s commercial space and the landlord’s structure. When that happens, a surprise cost can effectively reduce tenant’s insurance proceeds. The landlord may pass along its high...more

Prompt Payment of An Appraisal Award Bars Bad Faith Per Austin U.S. District Court, Although Some Acts By An Insurer May Leave The...

by Nejat Ahmed | Cozen O'Connor on 3/21/2013

The United States District Court for the Western District of Texas in Austin recently held that an insurer’s timely payment of an appraisal award bars the insured’s extra-contractual tort claims. Michels v. Safeco Ins. Co. of...more

First DCA Opinion On Sinkhole Loss Coverage May Impact Property Insurers In Florida

by Daniel Brown, Kelly Cruz-Brown | Carlton Fields on 3/19/2013

This opinion was issued today by the First District Court of Appeal (1st DCA). This opinion potentially impacts insurers authorized to transact property insurance in Florida in connection with existing and future sinkhole...more

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