Mental state, in some form, is the common theme running through our first three cases this month.

The Fifth Circuit decides whether directors and officers of an ice cream company, accused of breaching their fiduciary duties to shareholders, were entitled to a defense under the company’s CGL policy. The shareholders alleged that the company continued to make and sell ice cream despite knowing about Listeria contamination affecting their plants. The court addressed two key issues: did the complaint allege an “occurrence” and were the shareholders’ alleged damages “because of bodily injury”?