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First Circuit Limits Insurers’ Right to Recoup Defense Costs, Settlement Payments

Weighing in on an issue that has divided courts nationwide, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit has ruled that an insurer under Massachusetts law has no right to recoup defense costs, or amounts the insurer pays...more

Top Developments – November 2022

SPOTLIGHT: Third Circuit Court of Appeals Affirms No Coverage for Sex Trafficking Claims - In Nautilus Insurance Co. v. Motel Management Services Inc., the Court of Appeals granted a motion for judgment on the pleadings...more

MA SJC Rules Attorney’s Fees Awarded Under G. L. c. 93A Are Not Covered by Liability Policy

In Vermont Mutual Insurance Company v. Poirier, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) ruled that attorney’s fees awarded under M.G. L. c. 93A are not covered by a Businessowner’s Liability Policy, because such fees...more

Massachusetts Federal Court Rejects Adria Towers, Finds Construction Defects Not an “Occurrence”

In an important ruling for insurers, U.S. District Court Judge Patti Saris found that Massachusetts does not follow the position taken in Cypress Point Condo Association v. Adria Towers, LLC, 226 N.J. 403, 418 (2016), i.e.,...more

Massachusetts Business Court Addresses Defense Cost Allocation and Non-Cumulation Provisions in Long-Tail Context

A business court in Massachusetts has weighed in on two key issues affecting allocation of insurance coverage for long-tail liabilities in Massachusetts. Specifically, in Crosby Valve LLC et al. v. OneBeacon America Insurance...more

Connecticut Appellate Court Breaks New Ground on Policy Exhaustion

The Connecticut Appellate Court recently issued a wide-ranging opinion, Continental Casualty Co. v. Rohr, Inc., which significantly extended the current restrictive view on when a general liability policy can be considered...more

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Dismisses Medical Device Suit

Last week, in Dunn v. Genzyme,[1] the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) provided clarification as to the pleading standard that applies to state product liability claims against medical device manufacturers. Under...more

First Circuit Holds Conflicting Policy Provisions Require Coverage for Petroleum Spill

On December 18, 2020, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit held that conflicting provisions in an excess policy required an insurer to cover the costs a transportation company incurred to clean up a fuel spill,...more

The Goldilocks Rule: Panel Rejects Proposed Insurer-Specific MDL Proceedings for Four Large Insurers, but Establishes MDL...

It is an outcome few people expected. Back in August, the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (Panel) refused plaintiffs’ requests to set up a single industry-wide multi-district litigation, which would have...more

Connecticut Supreme Court Finds Duty to Defend When Case Law is Uncertain

The Connecticut Supreme Court recently addressed whether an insurer has a duty to defend when faced with legal uncertainty as to whether coverage is owed: for example, when there is no Connecticut case law on point, and...more

No Global MDL For COVID Business Interruption Claims, But Panel Will Consider Separate Consolidated Proceedings For Lloyds,...

In a widely anticipated ruling, the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation has denied two motions to centralize pretrial proceedings in hundreds of federal cases seeking coverage for business interruption losses caused...more

MDL Panel Presented With Numerous Solutions for Handling Hundreds of Federal COVID-19 Coverage Actions

This morning a hearing was held via Zoom before the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (MDL) addressing whether the hundreds of COVID-19 coverage actions, pending in federal courts far and wide, should all be...more

All Roads Lead to the JPMDL: Another COVID-19 Business Interruption Declaratory Judgment Is Stayed Pending MDL Decision

Insurers nationwide are awaiting the forthcoming decision of the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPMDL) on consolidating COVID-19 business interruption coverage lawsuits. In the meantime, some federal courts are...more

The Insurer’s Duty to Defend and Pre-Suit Demand Letters What Constitutes a “Suit”?

Commercial general liability (CGL) policies typically provide that an insurer will defend a “suit” that seeks covered “damages” that the insured may be “legally obligated to pay.” This seems simple enough. But can an...more

COVID Restrictions Struck in Wisconsin – Other Challenges Likely

Tensions between safety, public health, and economic considerations broke into open view again yesterday, as the Wisconsin Supreme Court struck down an Emergency Order issued by the Secretary of the Wisconsin Department of...more

Shuttered Businesses Seek National Consolidation of COVID-19 Business Interruption Claims

On April 20, 2020, two Philadelphia restaurants filed a petition with the Judicial Panel on Multi-District Litigation (the Panel or JPMDL), seeking to transfer and consolidate all COVID-19 business interruption insurance...more

First Circuit: No Coverage, No Duty to Investigate Alleged Loss Prior to Policy Period

On April 1, 2020, the First Circuit, applying Massachusetts law, issued a potentially useful decision addressing the Montrose “known loss” language in ISO Form CGL policies. In Clarendon National Insurance Company v....more

Massachusetts Joins the Fray, Introduces Bill Forcing Insurers to Pay for COVID-19-Related Business Interruption Losses

Before the ink could even dry on our latest alert, regarding Ohio's proposed bill, we learned that Massachusetts legislators had introduced their own COVID-19 bill — making it the third such bill in the span of about two...more

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