2BInformed: Engaging with EPA, OSHA’s New Regulation, and Asbestos
Delaware Supreme Court concludes that a letter from a lawyer informing an insured of possible lawsuits without identifying potential plaintiffs or demanding payment is not a “claim for damages” within the meaning of...more
The case between Equitas and Municipal Mutual Insurance (MMI) has been discontinued, bringing to an end a dispute that was due to be heard by the UK Supreme Court this week. Last year’s ruling by the Court of Appeal therefore...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
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
The Second Circuit has partially vacated summary judgment rulings in a case involving the reinsurance of asbestos-related risks. ...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
The Situation: This past month, the New York Court of Appeals considered whether New York law imposes a "rule of construction" or "strong presumption" that a reinsurance contract's limit of liability provision caps the...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 recent years, we have commented on the various retroactive reinsurance transactions that Berkshire Hathaway and its subsidiary, National Indemnity Company (“NICO”), have entered into with ceding insurers regarding coverage...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
In Global Reins. Corp. of Am. v. Century Indem. Co., 2016 WL 7156549 (Dec. 8, 2016), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit asked New York’s highest court, the New York Court of Appeals, to provide guidance as to...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
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 May 3, 2016, the Court of Appeals of New York issued its opinion in In re Viking Pump, No. 59, 2016 WL 1735790, and found that “all sums” allocation and vertical exhaustion applied to the insureds’ claims to excess...more
In the Matter of Viking Pump, Inc. and Warren Pumps LLC Insurance Appeals, No. CTQ-2015-00003 (NY) - Yesterday, on March 29, 2016, the New York Court of Appeals, New York’s highest court, will hear oral argument on two...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