2BInformed: Engaging with EPA, OSHA’s New Regulation, and Asbestos
Rulings by the United States Supreme Court profoundly impact insurers as businesses and corporate citizens. Additionally, decisions from the U.S. Supreme Court can also influence claims and policyholders' liabilities for...more
Although many companies that historically used asbestos in their products have gone bankrupt, there are still many that have managed to survive. How? In some — perhaps many — cases, the answer may be due in no small part to...more
In Textron v. Travelers Casualty and Surety Co. (No. B262933, filed 2/25/20), a California appeals court held that the Restatement’s choice of laws factors mandated application of California’s continuous and progressive...more
On October 4, 2019 (almost two years after granting certification), the Connecticut Supreme Court affirmed the Appellate Court’s rulings on four key coverage issues in R.T. Vanderbilt Company v. Hartford Accident & Indemnity...more
The Court of Appeal’s highly anticipated judgment in Equitas v MMI has been handed down today (17 April 2019). The decision is the latest ruling in the long running saga and represents an important victory for reinsurers....more
In a pair of recent asbestos coverage decisions, a Pennsylvania federal court issued rulings addressing expedited funding orders, number of “occurrences,” and the applicability of aggregate limits under the Fourth Circuit’s...more
Honeywell International Inc. (“Honeywell”), represented by its counsel at K&L Gates LLP, achieved a decisive victory for policyholders in a ruling from the Supreme Court of New Jersey on June 27, 2018, in the long-running...more
In April 1977, a few weeks before I began practicing law, senior claims executives of eighteen liability insurance companies met to discuss the insurance implications of asbestos bodily injury claims....more
On November 29, 2017, the New York Supreme Court issued an important ruling benefiting policyholders seeking insurance coverage for toxic tort claims. In American Home Assurance Company v. Port Authority of New York & New...more
The scope of an insurer’s right to control the defense of an insured is an underdeveloped issue in Massachusetts case law, which the Appeals Court recently addressed in OneBeacon America Ins. Co. v. Celanese Corp., No....more
In an action involving claims under facultative reinsurance for the reinsurance of asbestos risks, the reinsurer sought discovery of documents concerning the allocation of losses among the reinsurers on the program, and...more
A court has denied a motion to reconsider its decision denying a reinsurer’s (Century Indemnity Co.) motion to compel an insurer (Travelers Casualty and Surety Company) to produce certain documents in a case in which...more
Asbestos Injury Continuous, Delaware Supreme Court Rules - Why it matters - In the latest ruling in the long running asbestos litigation involving pump manufacturers in Delaware, the state's highest court declared,...more
A federal district court in California recently dismissed a lawsuit brought by a cedent against its reinsurer for lack of a personal jurisdiction, where the reinsurer’s only contacts with the state derived from the fact that...more
On July 20, 2016, the New Jersey Superior Court, Appellate Division, issued its opinion affirming the trial court’s entry of final judgment in favor of the policyholder, Honeywell International Inc. (“Honeywell”), on its...more
In Viking Pump, Inc., et al. v. TIG Insurance Co., et al., 2016 N.Y. LEXIS 1018 (N.Y. May 3, 2016), policyholders scored a victory when New York’s highest court applied “all sums” allocation and vertical exhaustion. The...more
R&Q Reinsurance Company issued a facultative reinsurance certificate to St. Paul Fire & Marine Insurance Company, which reinsured a policy issued by St. Paul to Walter E. Campbell, Co. The broker who placed the certificate...more
On August 14, 2015, a federal district court in New York entered an order allowing a petition to confirm an arbitration award to be filed in redacted form with the arbitration award to be filed under seal. The case is pending...more
Asset purchase and sale transactions are a preferred structure for many corporate deals. For a variety of reasons, it may be prudent for businesses or product lines to be transferred through these transactions, and an asset...more
Last week, in a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court of California changed the law governing anti-assignment provisions in liability insurance policies. Twelve years ago, in Henkel Corp. v. Hartford Accident & Indemnity...more
Last week, the California Supreme Court ruled in Fluor Corp. v. Superior Court, No. S205889, 2015 WL4938295 (Cal. 2015), that an insurer is precluded from refusing to honor an insured’s assignment of rights for past losses...more
This morning the California Supreme Court announced the thoroughly sensible ruling that a corporation may transfer its rights under liability insurance policies without obtaining the consent of the insurance company. Fluor...more
Legal Issues Not Proper Expert Testimony - Why it matters: As a good reminder concerning the boundaries for admissibility of expert opinions, a federal court in Texas recently granted a policyholder’s motion to strike an...more
The Vermont Supreme Court has ruled in In Re Ambassador Ins. Co., 2015 VT 4 (Vt. Jan. 23, 2015) that the liquidator of Ambassador Insurance acted unreasonably in setting a December 31, 2013 bar date for policyholder claims...more
In a reinsurance coverage dispute involving coverage for an underlying settlement of asbestos liability, a New York court considered whether the defenses of failure to provide prompt notice and failure to provide satisfactory...more