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
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
Here’s what we discuss in our October Insurance Update.
Illinois: Environmental Suits Alleging Non-Compliance with Laws and Regulations Did Not Assert an “Occurrence”-
Massachusetts (federal): Insurer May Consider Sums...more
10/24/2023
/ Bodily Injury ,
Claims Made Policy ,
Clean Water Act ,
Defense Costs ,
Denial of Insurance Coverage ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Illinois ,
Insurance Claims ,
Insurance Industry ,
Insurance Litigation ,
Insureds ,
Occurrence ,
Opioid ,
Policy Exclusions ,
Professional Service Exclusion ,
Property Damage
We touch upon several topics in our September Insurance Update.
We begin with two federal circuit court rulings on late notice – one involving a claims-made policy and the other an occurrence policy. In these cases, the...more
9/26/2023
/ Affirmative Action ,
Aircraft ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Claims Made Policy ,
Data Breach ,
Failure to Notify ,
Harvard University ,
Insurance Claims ,
Insurance Industry ,
Insurance Litigation ,
Invasion of Privacy ,
Late Notices ,
Loss of Use ,
Medical Certification Requests ,
Policy Exclusions ,
Policy Terms ,
Pro Rata Allocation Rule ,
Property Damage
We bring you our July Insurance Update.
We begin with two cases about late notice. First, the Kentucky Supreme Court considers whether the notice-prejudice rule applies to claims-made-and-reported policies. Second, the...more
7/18/2023
/ Business Exclusion ,
Claims Made Policy ,
Faulty Workmanship ,
Homeowner's Insurance ,
Insurance Claims ,
Insurance Industry ,
Insurance Litigation ,
KY Supreme Court ,
Notice Prejudice Rule ,
Property Damage ,
Umbrella Policies ,
Water Pollution ,
WI Supreme Court
A few years back, we discussed the Montana Supreme Court’s Parker decision, which interpreted an earth movement exclusion in a first-party claim under a homeowner’s policy. There, a boulder dislodged from a hillside and...more
8/23/2022
/ Arbitration ,
Bad Faith ,
Bodily Injury ,
Commercial General Liability Policies ,
Condominium Associations ,
Consumer Fraud ,
Duty to Defend ,
Homeowner's Insurance ,
MT Supreme Court ,
NJ Supreme Court ,
Property Damage
Coverage disputes often center on whether the policy language is clear. Under the rules of contract construction, unambiguous language in an insurance policy must be given its plain and ordinary meaning. Sometimes,...more
You’ll find some notable decisions in our May Insurance Update.
Appeals over pandemic-related business interruption losses have made their way up to state high courts. And so far, these courts have continued the trend...more
5/19/2022
/ Appellate Courts ,
Assignment of Benefits (AOB) ,
Bodily Injury ,
Business Interruption ,
Car Accident ,
Contaminated Properties ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Duty of Care ,
Good Faith ,
Hazardous Substances ,
Insurance Claims ,
Insurance Industry ,
Insurance Litigation ,
Lead Paint ,
Negligence ,
Opioid ,
Post-Loss Claims ,
Property Damage ,
Public Nuisance ,
SC Supreme Court ,
Supply Chain ,
TX Supreme Court
Cases in our April Insurance Update address several questions:
•Are costs incurred to comply with a subpoena covered?
•What must an insured show to rebut the presumption of prejudice in a late notice situation?
•What...more
4/21/2022
/ Amtrak ,
Appellate Courts ,
Claims Made Policy ,
Class Action ,
D&O Insurance ,
Data Breach ,
Insurance Claims ,
Insurance Industry ,
Insurance Litigation ,
Misrepresentation ,
Notice Requirements ,
Pollution Liability Insurance ,
Prejudice ,
Property Damage ,
Retroactivity ,
Securities ,
Subpoenas ,
Target
Texas practitioners can add a new term to their legal vocabulary: “the Monroe exception.” The Texas Supreme Court has finally weighed in on whether to create an exception to the eight corners rule when determining if an...more
3/22/2022
/ ASIC ,
Assault ,
Bodily Injury ,
Collusion ,
Confidential Information ,
CT Supreme Court ,
Duty to Defend ,
Evidence ,
Extrinsic Evidence ,
Fire Insurance ,
Insurance Industry ,
Malware ,
No Contest Clause ,
Property Damage ,
Property Insurance ,
Reservation of Rights ,
State Attorneys General ,
Trademark Infringement ,
TX Supreme Court
Causation, an issue courts often wrestle with when deciding insurance coverage issues, lands the starring role in our February Insurance Update.
•A county experienced higher costs due to the opioid crisis. Does its...more
2/23/2022
/ Advertising ,
Bodily Injury ,
Contaminated Properties ,
Duty to Defend ,
Email ,
Environmental Violations ,
Fraud ,
Fraudulent Transfers ,
GEICO ,
Insurance Claims ,
Insurance Industry ,
Logos ,
Opioid ,
Pharmacies ,
Property Damage ,
Trade Dress
Cases discussed in our January Insurance Update answer these questions:
•A commercial crime policy covers property that the insured “holds for others.” In the context of a phishing scheme, does “hold” mean the insured...more
1/24/2022
/ Asbestos ,
Auto Insurance ,
Commercial Crime Insurance Polices ,
Construction Project ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Exclusions ,
Hazardous Waste ,
Independent Contractors ,
Insurance Industry ,
Liability Insurance ,
Online Payments ,
Opioid ,
Payment Processors ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Phishing Scams ,
Property Damage ,
Third-Party ,
Trucking Industry ,
Wastewater ,
Wells Fargo ,
Wind Damage
Our December Insurance Update features four cases.
The Minnesota Supreme Court decides if a resident-relative exclusion violates public policy.
A Texas appellate court considers, for a second time, if damage from...more
12/21/2021
/ Bodily Injury ,
Demolition ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Homeowners ,
Insurance Claims ,
Insurance Industry ,
MN Supreme Court ,
Policy Exclusions ,
Property Damage ,
Property Insurance ,
Public Policy ,
Trustees
We bring you our November Insurance Update.
Here’s what happened over the past month.
Insurers scored a hat trick before the Ninth Circuit, as the court found no coverage for pandemic-related business interruption...more
11/22/2021
/ Bodily Injury ,
Business Interruption ,
Business Losses ,
Car Accident ,
Causation ,
Commercial General Liability Policies ,
Commercial Insurance Policies ,
Construction Defects ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Criminal Convictions ,
Homicide ,
Injunctive Relief ,
Insurance Claims ,
Insurance Industry ,
NV Supreme Court ,
Policy Exclusions ,
Property Damage ,
Statutory Damages ,
TCPA ,
Telemarketing
September. Synonymous with back to school, the end of summer, and the start of the NFL season. And while the Cowboys and Bucs kicked off the season this year, another epic battle was brewing out west in the corridors of the...more
9/20/2021
/ Arbitration ,
Business Interruption ,
Business Losses ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Debt Collection ,
FDCPA ,
Insurance Industry ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
McCarran-Ferguson Act ,
Misrepresentation ,
Pollution Exclusion ,
Property Damage ,
Reimbursements ,
Reservation of Rights
In our March Insurance Update, we discuss four state supreme court cases and four cybercrime cases.
The state high courts address:
•From whose perspective should a consent-to-settle provision be judged?
•What standard...more
3/18/2021
/ Appellate Courts ,
Attorney Malpractice ,
AZ Supreme Court ,
Class Action ,
Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) ,
Corporate Executives ,
Data Breach ,
Declaratory Judgments ,
Default Judgment ,
Duty to Defend ,
Email ,
Failure To Disclose ,
Fire Insurance ,
Forgery ,
Fraudulent Transfers ,
Hackers ,
Homeowners ,
Independent Contractors ,
Insurance Industry ,
Insurance Litigation ,
Insurer Liability ,
KY Supreme Court ,
Mediation ,
Motion for Summary Judgment ,
MT Supreme Court ,
NE Supreme Court ,
Objective Standard ,
Phishing Scams ,
Property Damage ,
Reservation of Rights ,
Spoofing ,
State Farm ,
Stocks ,
Summary Judgment ,
Target ,
Texas ,
Wells Fargo ,
Wire Fraud
Our February insurance update discusses several issues involving first-party and third-party insurance claims.
•The Florida Supreme Court answers a certified question about the type of damages available to first-party...more
2/18/2021
/ Bodily Injury ,
Commercial General Liability Policies ,
Contractors ,
Damages ,
FL Supreme Court ,
Groundwater ,
Homeowners ,
Insurance Industry ,
Oil Spills ,
Partial Summary Judgments ,
Property Damage