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
Court: U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Louisiana. Plaintiff filed an action alleging take-home exposure from asbestos fibers while living with her grandfather, who was a welder for 40 years at Avondale...more
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, September 15, 2022 - Fireman’s Fund Ins. Co. v. Onebeacon Ins. Co., 2022 U.S. App. LEXIS 25863 - Fireman’s Fund Insurance Company (“Fireman’s Fund”) issued three excess...more
Register Today For Cranfill Sumner’s 2021 Virtual Continuing Education Seminar: Workers’ Compensation & Civil Litigation Law Updates...more
Parties to a contract generally can include in their agreement a provision preventing assignment of the agreement’s rights and remedies without the consent of both parties. ...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
The Second Circuit has reversed a $64 million judgment against Fireman’s Fund Insurance Co. in the latest ruling in a long-running dispute related to primary and excess policies that Utica Mutual Insurance Co. issued to a...more
We previously posted about the yearslong reinsurance dispute between Utica Mutual Insurance Co. (the cedent) and Century Indemnity Co. (the reinsurer), involving Utica’s claims that Century breached two reinsurance...more
The plaintiffs, U.S. Fire Insurance Co. and North River Insurance Co., issued 12 umbrella and excess umbrella liability policies for a combined coverage of $244 million to a manufacturer of respiratory protection equipment...more
The case involved a “second layer special casualty excess agreement of reinsurance” under which reinsurers General Reinsurance Corp. and SCOR Reinsurance Co. agreed to cover a certain amount in excess of Chicago Insurance...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
A New York state court explored the proper allocation method for insurance policies with non-cumulation clauses covering asbestos exposure loss occurring over the course of multiple successive policy periods in In re...more
In a closely watched case, the Court of Appeal of England and Wales has given reinsurers a win with respect to reinsurance claims related to mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases....more
A New York Supreme Court recently explained the conditions that qualify and disqualify a proposed umpire. National Union Fire Insurance and Enstar could not agree on an umpire for their asbestos-claim-related arbitration. ...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
A Michigan federal court declined to bifurcate a case involving a contract dispute between a ceding insurer, Amerisure, and its reinsurer, Transatlantic Re, in a case arising from underlying asbestos claims dating back to the...more
The Northern District of New York declined to reconsider a September 2018 decision on competing motions for partial summary judgment we previously reported on in a long-running reinsurance dispute related to asbestos...more
On December 6, 2018, in an unreported decision, Maryland’s Court of Special Appeals permitted plaintiffs in product liability litigation in Baltimore City Circuit Court to obtain broad discovery into joint defense agreements,...more
In the wake of asbestos bankruptcies brought on by mass tort liabilities, reorganization plan structures, like that in Johns-Mansville, often funneled asbestos-related claims into a settlement trust, while a “channeling...more
In 2013, Utica Mutual Insurance Company (the cedent) filed a complaint alleging that Century Indemnity Company (the reinsurer) (1) breached two reinsurance certificates executed between the parties covering the years 1973 and...more
The Second Circuit has partially vacated summary judgment rulings in a case involving the reinsurance of asbestos-related risks. ...more
Summary: A recent Third Circuit decision has clarified the scope of the third-party injunction, including injunctions in favor of insurers that resolve insurance coverage in asbestos bankruptcy cases, that may be issued under...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
On July 18, 2018, in Pennsylvania Manufacturers’ Association Insurance Company v. Johnson Matthey, Inc., et al., No. 24 MAP 2017 (Pa. July 18, 2018), the Pennsylvania Supreme Court quashed the Pennsylvania Manufacturers’...more
The New York Supreme Court (Appellate Division) addressed in a February 2nd decision whether three insurance companies had any obligation to defend or indemnify a company who was subject to criminal proceedings related to an...more