In June, we wrote about the Commercial Division Advisory Council’s proposed amendment to 22 NYCRR § 202.70 to clarify what types of insurance cases may be heard. That amendment was approved October 8. The New York Commercial...more
10/24/2025
/ Amended Rules ,
Commercial Insurance Policies ,
Commercial Litigation ,
D&O Insurance ,
Environmental Litigation ,
Insurance Industry ,
Insurance Litigation ,
Insurance Regulations ,
Jurisdiction ,
Jurisdictional Thresholds ,
New York ,
Regulatory Requirements
We are pleased to bring you our monthly insurance update.
And insurance brokers will be pleased with the Connecticut Supreme Court’s decision on the scope of an insurance agent’s duties. The court held that an agent has...more
10/23/2025
/ Appellate Courts ,
Bad Faith ,
Bodily Injury ,
Brownfield Properties ,
CERCLA ,
Clean Water Act ,
Commercial General Liability Policies ,
Environmental Litigation ,
Insurance Agents ,
Insurance Brokers ,
Insurance Claims ,
Insurance Industry ,
Insurance Litigation ,
Number of Occurences ,
Property Insurance ,
Site Remediation ,
Storm Water
Jealous husbands, protection payments, defective earplugs, opioids, and abuse of process form the backdrop to our September Insurance Update.
We begin with two cases from Delaware’s high court.
The first reaffirms...more
9/22/2025
/ Appellate Courts ,
Commercial General Liability Policies ,
CVS ,
Deductibles ,
Denial of Insurance Coverage ,
Duty to Indemnify ,
Insurance Claims ,
Insurance Contracts ,
Insurance Litigation ,
Liability Insurance ,
Malicious Prosecution ,
Occurrence ,
Opioid ,
Personal and Advertising Injury Coverage ,
Policy Terms ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Rite Aid ,
Self-Insurance ,
Self-Insured Retention Provisions ,
Settlement
“Arising out of” is a phrase commonly found in an insurance policy. It’s a broad phrase, and courts construe it that way. When this phrase appears in an exclusion, courts often apply a “but for” causation test. And that may...more
8/21/2025
/ Appellate Courts ,
But For Causation ,
Causation ,
Co-Insured Issues ,
Commercial General Liability Policies ,
Denial of Insurance Coverage ,
Duty to Defend ,
Errors and Omissions Policy ,
Firearms ,
Georgia ,
Insurance Contracts ,
Insurance Litigation ,
Interpleaders ,
Louisiana ,
Negligence ,
Occurrence ,
Policy Exclusions ,
Texas
We cover a broad range of topics in this month’s insurance update.
The Supreme Court of Vermont considers how to measure a boat’s capacity under a watercraft exclusion.
The Sixth Circuit decides whether an equipment...more
7/23/2025
/ Appellate Courts ,
Cyber Insurance ,
Insurance Agents ,
Insurance Claims ,
Insurance Litigation ,
NC Supreme Court ,
Negligence ,
Policy Exclusions ,
Professional Liability ,
Professional Liability Insurance ,
Wrongful Death
The Administrative Board of the Courts is seeking public comment on a proposal by the Commercial Division Advisory Council to amend the Commercial Division rules (22 NYCRR § 202.70) to clarify what types of insurance cases...more
6/27/2025
/ Business Interruption ,
Comment Period ,
Commercial Insurance Policies ,
Commercial Litigation ,
Environmental Claims ,
Errors and Omissions Policy ,
Insurance Claims ,
Insurance Industry ,
Insurance Litigation ,
Jurisdiction ,
New York ,
Proposed Amendments ,
Proposed Rules ,
Public Comment ,
Rulemaking Process
We’ve selected five recent insurance decisions for this month’s update.
Foreign insurers will be pleased with the Second Circuit’s revamped view of the New York Convention. In finding that the international treaty is...more
6/24/2025
/ Appeals ,
Arbitration ,
Commercial Insurance Policies ,
Foreign Arbitral Awards ,
Insurance Claims ,
Insurance Contracts ,
Insurance Litigation ,
Insurance Regulations ,
Occurrence ,
Policy Exclusions ,
Policy Terms ,
Property Damage ,
Property Insurance ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Litigation
We touch upon several issues in this month’s update.
Negligent breach of contract: Courts recognize that a CGL policy does not cover breach of contract claims. But where the insured is accused of negligently performing its...more
As temperatures in the Northeast have made it feel more like winter than spring, it’s only fitting that we begin our April Insurance Update with a case from Alaska. There, the Alaska Supreme Court decides for the first time...more
4/18/2025
/ AK Supreme Court ,
Appeals ,
Appellate Courts ,
Carbon Monoxide Exposure ,
Dismissals ,
Insurance Claims ,
Insurance Industry ,
Insurance Litigation ,
Manufacturers ,
Opioid ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Policy Exclusions ,
Pollution Exclusion ,
Property Insurance ,
Summary Judgment
In this month’s update, we discuss cases involving related wrongful acts, wildfires, concealment of a weapon, concealment of climate risks, and road rage.
We begin in Delaware, where the state’s high court determines...more
3/21/2025
/ Appellate Courts ,
California ,
Climate Change ,
Delaware ,
Insurance Claims ,
Insurance Industry ,
Insurance Litigation ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Litigation ,
Wildfires ,
Wrongful Acts
The 2014 Home Depot data breach was one of the more notorious cyberattacks. A decade later, litigation over that incident continues. The Sixth Circuit recently decided whether an electronic data exclusion cleared insurers...more
2/21/2025
/ Commercial Insurance Policies ,
Cyber Insurance ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Privacy ,
Denial of Insurance Coverage ,
Duty to Defend ,
Insurance Claims ,
Insurance Industry ,
Insurance Litigation ,
Liability ,
Litigation Strategies ,
Policy Exclusions ,
Risk Management
We kick off the year with a quartet of state supreme court decisions and an intermediate appellate court ruling that has insurers breathing a harmonious sigh of relief. Policyholders and insurers often disagree over what the...more
1/23/2025
/ Abatement ,
Appellate Courts ,
Business Closures ,
Business Losses ,
Car Accident ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
CT Supreme Court ,
Damages ,
Duty to Defend ,
Insurance Claims ,
Insurance Industry ,
Insurance Litigation ,
OH Supreme Court ,
Policy Exclusions ,
Policy Terms ,
Property Damage ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices ,
Workers’ Compensation
There’s been plenty of litigation over whether construction defect claims qualify for coverage under a CGL policy. This month, we discuss two federal circuit court rulings (First and Seventh Circuits) that reach opposite...more
12/19/2024
/ Auto Insurance ,
Breach of Duty ,
Commercial General Liability Policies ,
Construction Defects ,
Construction Industry ,
D&O Insurance ,
Defamation ,
Duty to Defend ,
Insurance Claims ,
Insurance Industry ,
Insurance Litigation ,
Johnny Depp ,
Liability Insurance ,
Policy Exclusions ,
Policy Terms
In this month’s update, we’re discussing cases involving climate change, hurricanes, cryptocurrency, and aerial spraying.
We begin in Hawaii where that state’s high court became the first to decide whether greenhouse gas...more
11/21/2024
/ Agricultural Sector ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Duty to Defend ,
Fossil Fuel ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
HI Supreme Court ,
Insurance Claims ,
Insurance Industry ,
Insurance Litigation ,
Loss Coverage ,
Natural Disasters ,
Pollution Control ,
Property Damage
There is a famous scene in The Pink Panther Strikes Again where inspector Clouseau asks a hotel clerk if his dog bites, to which the clerk responds “no.” When Clouseau goes to pet the dog, it viciously bites him on the hand....more
10/23/2024
/ Bodily Injury ,
Claims Adjusters ,
Distributors ,
Insurance Claims ,
Insurance Contracts ,
Insurance Industry ,
Insurance Litigation ,
Manufacturers ,
Policy Exclusions ,
Policy Terms ,
Property Damage ,
Sellers ,
Subpoenas
In this month’s update, we discuss Russian-seized planes, Starbucks-caused traffic jams, a squabble over the use of a family name, a restaurant’s pandemic-based loss, a poorly built house, and whether insurance covers any of...more
9/19/2024
/ Aircraft ,
Business Losses ,
CA Supreme Court ,
Commercial General Liability Policies ,
Commercial Insurance Policies ,
Construction Defects ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Denial of Insurance Coverage ,
False Statements ,
Insurance Claims ,
Insurance Industry ,
Insurance Litigation ,
Loss Coverage ,
Misrepresentation ,
Policy Terms ,
Property Damage
We touch upon various issues in our August insurance update.
The Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts considers the meaning of “surface waters” and whether the sublimit for floods applies when pooled water on a roof...more
It’s not often that the U.S. Supreme Court weighs in on insurance issues. That’s because the McCarran-Ferguson Act gives states the primary authority to regulate the business of insurance. So when the Supreme Court speaks on...more
7/25/2024
/ Anti-Assignment Clauses ,
Asbestos Litigation ,
Bankruptcy Court ,
Horizontal Exhaustion Doctrine ,
Insurance Claims ,
Insurance Industry ,
Insurance Litigation ,
Liability ,
McCarran-Ferguson Act ,
Policy Exclusions ,
Pollution Exclusion ,
SCOTUS ,
Truck Insurance Exchange v Kaiser Gypsum Co Inc
Most pandemic-related businesses interruption insurance claims failed because policyholders could not show a direct physical loss. But some California courts issued conflicting decisions. The California Supreme Court has now...more
6/24/2024
/ Bitcoin ,
Business Interruption ,
Business Losses ,
Civil Liability ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Insurance Claims ,
Insurance Industry ,
Insurance Litigation ,
Material Misrepresentation ,
Negligence ,
NJ Supreme Court ,
No-Fault Insurance ,
Professional Liability ,
Terrorism Insurance
Careening race cars, missing diamonds, and gold treasure provide some of the backdrop for insurance issues that courts had to decide this past month. We begin in Pennsylvania where the state’s high court reined in some loose...more
5/20/2024
/ Appellate Courts ,
Breach of Duty ,
Defense Costs ,
Duty of Care ,
Duty to Defend ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Homeowners ,
Insurance Claims ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Misappropriation ,
PA Supreme Court ,
Securities Violations ,
Wrongful Death
Dominance was the theme of this year’s NCAA basketball tournament, with the UConn men’s team winning back-to-back championships and the South Carolina women’s team reclaiming the title with a perfect record. But let’s not...more
4/12/2024
/ Anti-Stacking Provisions ,
Auto Insurance ,
Breach of Contract ,
D&O Insurance ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Insurance Claims ,
Insurance Industry ,
Insurance Litigation ,
Notice Prejudice Rule ,
Policy Exclusions ,
Policy Terms ,
Professional Liability Insurance ,
Rescission ,
Storm Damage ,
Uninsured and Under-Insured Motorists ,
Wrongful Acts
We begin with three state supreme court decisions answering these questions:
• A year before an insured bought its claims-made policy it received an attorney’s letter threatening mass tort litigation. The first suits were...more
3/20/2024
/ Biometric Information Privacy Act ,
Claims Made Policy ,
Damages ,
DE Supreme Court ,
Insurance Claims ,
Insurance Industry ,
Insurance Litigation ,
Mass Tort Litigation ,
MI Supreme Court ,
No-Fault Insurance ,
Trade Secrets
In this month’s insurance update, we address:
•Whether opioid suits allege an occurrence -
•Whether the recurring presence of wild turkeys is “infestation” -
•Whether improper copying of an industry publication was in...more
2/23/2024
/ Commercial General Liability Policies ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Eviction ,
Insurance Claims ,
Insurance Industry ,
Insurance Litigation ,
Leases ,
Natural Person Requirement ,
Opioid ,
Pest Infestation ,
Policy Exclusions ,
Pollution Liability Insurance ,
Professional Liability Insurance ,
Property Damage ,
Tenants ,
USAA
In our January insurance update, we include three state cases addressing some less common situations.
It’s not often that a pollution exclusion is interpreted in the context of an auto policy. But the South Dakota Supreme...more
1/23/2024
/ Bad Faith ,
Condominium Associations ,
Contamination ,
Demolition ,
Duty to Defend ,
Faulty Workmanship ,
Insurance Claims ,
Insurance Industry ,
Insurance Litigation ,
Occurrence ,
Policy Exclusions ,
Professional Service Exclusion ,
Property Damage ,
Renovations ,
SD Supreme Court ,
State Farm ,
Statute of Limitations
Our December Insurance Update features a few firsts from state high courts. For the first time:
•The Supreme Court of Hawaii addresses reimbursement of defense costs.
•The Supreme Court of Illinois addresses coverage for...more
12/21/2023
/ Bodily Injury ,
Carbon Monoxide Exposure ,
Commercial General Liability Policies ,
Construction Defects ,
Defamation ,
Defense Costs ,
Insurance Claims ,
Insurance Industry ,
Insurance Litigation ,
Professional Liability Insurance ,
Property Damage ,
Property Insurance ,
Reimbursements ,
Trademarks ,
Triggering Event