Toxic Torts › Civil Procedure › Insurance

Insurance Recovery Law -- May 01, 2013

Insurers Had Duty to Defend Regardless of Whether Allegations in Underlying Cases Are True or False, Says Illinois Court - On April 12, 2013, an Illinois trial court ordered that Travelers Casualty & Surety Company,...more

Bad Faith Sentinel - April 2013

In This Issue: - Western District Of Washington: Denial of a Defense Where Additional-Insured Status Was Arguable, and Doing So in Reliance on Extrinsic Evidence, Were Both Acts of Bad Faith - New York Court...more

Insurance Recovery Law -- Apr 18, 2013

Ninth Circuit Narrows Insurers' Options in Pursuing Subrogation Claims Under CERCLA - Why it matters: The Ninth Circuit confirmed that Chubb could have maintained a subrogation action against potentially liable parties...more

Fifth Circuit Reverses District Court in Deepwater Horizon Insurance Coverage Litigation and Grants BP Unlimited Access to...

On March 1, 2013, a three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, in In re Deepwater Horizon, No. 12-30230, 2013 WL 776354 (5th Cir. March 1, 2013), held that BP PLC ("BP") can access...more

Rhode Island Cleans Up Problematic Superfund Precedent That Undermined Federal Settlements

The U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island has vacated its 2010 summary judgment decision in Ashland Inc. v. GAR Electroforming, 729 F. Supp. 2d 526 (D.R.I. 2010), just days after receiving an amicus memorandum...more

Reinsurance Redux - March 2013

In This Issue: - New York Court of Appeals Reverses Decision Requiring Reinsurers to Follow the Fortunes on Asbestos Settlement Where There Were Questions of Fact With Respect to Reasonableness of Reinsured’s...more

Policy Observer - January 2013

It has been nearly three months since Superstorm Sandy battered the East Coast of the United States. With several hundred thousand residents still without homes and many businesses still operating out of temporary facilities,...more

In Alabama, Cost of Complying with a PRP letter Now Insured Under CGL Policies

In a recent ruling of interest to any company named as a potentially responsible party (“PRP”) at a Superfund site, the Alabama Supreme Court has held that a PRP letter constitutes a “suit” under a comprehensive general...more

Virginia Supreme Court Ends Chinese Drywall Debate

We are pleased to report that the Virginia Supreme Court has tacked down – or, more appropriately, “drywall-ed in” – the issue of whether a pollution exclusion in a property insurance policy precludes coverage for Chinese...more

Not An Oscar Winner: A Case About Indemnification

It's hard for me to think of a case I'd rather not write about than GR&S Atlantic Beach, LLC v. Hull, 2012 NCBC 52. It's not just that it's deathly boring or that it involves the interpretation of poorly written transaction...more

Rhode Island's Easily Triggered Duty of An Insurer to Defend Environmental Cases

The First Circuit recently confirmed the traditional rule that it doesn’t take much to trigger an insurer’s duty to defend a policyholder against an environmental claim. In Travelers Casualty and Surety Company v. Providence...more

Justices Weigh Arguments on Stacking in Toxic Tort Cases

California Supreme Court justices heard arguments recently in a novel case that could significantly impact the amount insurers must pay to clean up toxic waste....more

Watch your Greenhouse Gases

In AES Corp. v. Steadfast Ins. Co., Record No. 100764, 2012 WL 1377054 (Va. April 20, 2012), the Supreme Court of Virginia found that a lawsuit alleging damages caused by the insured’s emission of greenhouse gases was not an...more

New York Court Addresses Impact of Allowing Insured to Default

In its recent decision in Sunnyside Dev. Co., LLC v. Chartis Specialty Ins. Co., 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9392 (S.D.N.Y. Jan. 26, 2012), the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York demonstrated the...more

Fifth Circuit Restricts Cy Pres Doctrine in Class Action Settlements

The Fifth Circuit recently issued a significant decision restricting the use of the doctrine of cy pres in class action settlements, as well as affirming the importance of a well-drafted settlement document....more

Basics of Filing an Oregon Bus Accident Claim

Injured by a bus or on a bus? You may need help because buses are often owned by government agencies, which means the whole civil/personal injury process becomes more difficult and more complicated. ...more

Oregon State Time Limits for Filing Personal Injury Lawsuits

Statutes of limitation vary by state, so make sure to know the time limits for filing a personal injury lawsuit in the state where you had your accident. Learn the basic time limits for statutes in Oregon, including personal...more

Vangnet na een kernramp (Beursbengel juni 2011)

In Dutch. De productie en het gebruik van kernenergie voor vreedzame doeleinden brengen, ondanks de strenge veiligheidseisen, gevaren met zich, bestaande in exceptionele risico's voor mens, dier en milieu. Op zichzelf genomen...more

IT'S NOT A BAD DREAM

It Is Not A Bad Dream The California Electronic Discovery Act...more

Turn Your Case into a Winning Documentary

Show Them What Your Case is Really Worth. Let TV News Veterans Turn into a Broadcast Quality Documentary for Mediation. Here's what you should know:...more

Case Note: US Supreme Court Rejects Attempt To Curb Class Actions (2010)

This case note was published in the Los Angeles Daily Journal. It summarizes the 2010 United States Supreme Court decision in Shady Grove v. Allstate. The Court resolved a conflict between a New York Statute, which...more

Allocation Ruling: The Second Department “Time On The Risk” Allocation Ruling In Lead Paint Cases Will Not Be “The Last Word”

A New York intermediate appellate court has made a ruling on allocation of the settlement of a lead paint claim between consecutive insurers of the same building. This ruling is significant, not only to lead paint cases, but...more

California Appellate Court Holds That Insurer Is Not Required to Show Proof of Prejudice to Deny Coverage Based On Failure to...

In Venoco, Inc. v. Gulf Underwriters Ins. Co., 2009 WL 1875640 (July 1, 2009), the Second District Court of Appeal affirmed a summary judgment entered in favor of Gulf Underwriters Insurance Company (“Gulf”) with regard to...more

Hall v. Babcock & Wilcox Company

Plaintiffs' Memorandum in Support of Motion to Compel and in Opposition to Non-Party ANI's Motion to Quash

Motion to enforce out-of-state subpoenas by compelling insurance company to produce communications with a scientist it hired to conduct epidemiology studies of Plaintiffs' community, in a mass tort radiation exposure case....more

Maryland Casualty Co. v. W.R. Grace & Co., Inc.--Conn.

Memorandum of Law of W.R. Grace & Co.--Conn. in Support of Its Motion for Relief From the Court's Earlier Ruling on Choice of Law

Defendant W. R. Grace & Co.--Conn. (“Grace”) submits this Memorandum of Law in support of its motion for relief from the Court's previous choice of law determination, based on the Court's inherent authority to modify an...more