Hinshaw Releases Second Edition of Duty to Defend: A Fifty-State Survey
Loading and Unloading Under GL and Auto Policies: 2022
Prior & Pending Litigation
What is a Damron Agreement?
Do you know which attorneys will represent your interests if your insurance provider has to defend you in litigation? You might be surprised. As a general rule, liability insurance policies – such as those held by family...more
Policyholders purchase liability insurance expecting that, when they are sued, their defense will be paid for by their insurer. Because the key value of liability insurance is that it is really “litigation insurance,” courts...more
When determining whether insurance coverage exists for a claim, a crucial consideration is whether the claim involves an event or occurrence that took place in a state other than where the relevant policy was delivered. This...more
The United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi, applying Mississippi law, has held that a federal employee professional liability policy insurer’s duty to defend was unambiguously triggered by...more
The duty of a liability insurer to defend a policyholder from litigation is typically described as broad and expansive, extending beyond the insurer’s duty to indemnify. The duty to defend generally obliges an insurer to...more
On November 28, 2022, the Illinois Supreme Court unanimously reversed the appellate court’s decision that an insurer would have to defend a rental property’s tenants against a third-party negligence claim arising from a fire....more
On October 18, 2022, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania granted allowance of appeal in Kramer v. Nationwide Property and Casualty Insurance Co. regarding the issue of whether the Superior Court erred by finding that “emotional...more
On November 8, 2022, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida that Mount Vernon Fire Insurance Co. did not have a duty to defend Global Travel International...more
Where a liability carrier has assumed its insured’s defense under a reservation of rights, a variety of conflicts between those parties may arise when there are settlement discussions to resolve the underlying litigation....more
Pepsi-Cola Metro. Bottling Co. v. Emp’rs Ins. Co., 2022 Wisc. App. LEXIS 598 (Wisc. Ct. App. July 8, 2022) - Wisconsin Court of Appeals (in a divided decision) holds that a “post-loss” assignment of rights under a...more
Where multiple liability policies are triggered, does one of the insurers get to insist that its deductible be satisfied before the insured can be provided with a defense? Relatedly, can the insured choose which insurer...more
The rising tide of climate change lawsuits is sure to bring with it a wave of declaratory judgment actions on the issue of whether liability insurers have an obligation to defend fossil fuel producers and other climate change...more
In situations where there is a dispute over a duty to defend, an insurer may provide a defense to its insured, subject to a reservation of rights, to not only deny coverage for a defense, but also to file a declaratory...more
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently issued an unpublished opinion in Atain Specialty Insurance Company v. JKT Associates, Inc., Case No. 20-16366 (9th Cir., March 11, 2022), finding that a liability policy’s...more
Most commercial liability policies provide what is known as “personal and advertising injury” coverage, which usually provides coverage for claims that an insured’s advertising defamed or disparaged another person’s or...more
Applying Maine law, the United States District Court for the District of Maine has held that a legal professional liability insurer had a duty to defend an insured attorney against a suit alleging sexual assault of a client,...more
Insured gets sued. Insurer hires defense counsel to represent insured. Defense counsel takes over the case, and eventually, the case ends. Most of the time, the carrier and its insured will be satisfied with the result. There...more
Few courts have yet decided insurance coverage issues in litigation involving per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). But yesterday, in Crum & Forster Specialty Insurance Company v. Chemicals, Inc., No. H-20-3493, 2021...more
The liability insurance relationship is primarily one of contract, with the insurance policy as the principal source of the parties’ obligations. As with other types of insurance, the duties of the parties—and the...more
A California federal court has ruled that an insured's misrepresentation in a Statement of No Loss in support of reinstatement of its liability insurance policy provided the basis to rescind the policy reinstatement, but not...more
Given the breadth of the duty to defend, liability insurers often must defend insureds against claims that do not ultimately trigger the duty to indemnify. In some states, an insurer can offer a defense under a reservation of...more
On July 23, 2020, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, applying Florida law, looked beyond an operative complaint to relieve an insurer of its duty to defend in BBG Design Build, LLC v. Southern Owners Insurance Company. In...more
United States District Court Orders Insured To Produce Certain Pre-Litigation Documents But Not Others Deemed Work Product 99 Wall sued Allied World seeking coverage under a property policy for water losses at 99 Wall’s...more
The duty to defend is a critical threshold determination in all liability coverage disputes. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has provided a clear and consistent directive on the issue: facts alleged in the complaint control...more
An Illinois state appellate court recently ruled that a customer's biometric privacy class action claims against an insured tanning salon potentially fell within two insurer's personal injury coverage. See, West Bend Mutual...more