On May 22, 2020, the Illinois legislature overwhelmingly passed a bipartisan bill that creates COVID-19 workers' compensation protection for certain workers considered "essential" under the Governor's stay-at-home order. The...more
On May 21, 2020, Illinois Representative Kelly M. Burke filed an amendment to Senate Bill 2135. Among other things, the proposal would amend the Administrative Code of Illinois to require the Illinois Department of Insurance...more
The COVID-19 pandemic has forced employers across the country to rapidly make numerous and significant decisions about how to manage their business in this unprecedented time. Employers have had to quickly develop and...more
5/14/2020
/ Bodily Injury ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Employment Practices Liability Insurance (EPLI) ,
Failure To Warn ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Labor Law Violations ,
Meat Processing Plants ,
Negligence ,
Notice Requirements ,
OSHA ,
Personal Protective Equipment ,
Policy Exclusions ,
Sick Employees ,
Social Distancing ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wal-Mart ,
Workplace Decontamination ,
Wrongful Acts ,
Wrongful Death
All Sums Allocation Does Not Apply to Garden-Variety Product Defect Claim -
On April 23, 2020, the Ohio Supreme Court issued an opinion in Lubrizol Advanced Materials, Inc. v. Natl. Union Fire Ins. Co. of Pittsburgh, PA.,...more
Over the past several weeks, we've seen legislators introduce bills to retroactively rewrite existing insurance policies to provide coverage for COVID-19 claims, and a flood of insurance coverage complaints filed across the...more
On April 14, 2020, California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara issued a notice to insurers titled "Requirement to Accept, Forward, Acknowledge, and Fairly Investigate All Business Interruption Insurance Claims Caused by...more
4/20/2020
/ Bad Faith ,
Business Interruption ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Insurance ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Insurance Agents ,
Insurance Brokers ,
Insurance Claims ,
Insurance Industry ,
Notice Requirements ,
Policy Exclusions ,
State and Local Government
On April 14, 2020, United States Representative Mike Thompson (CA-05) introduced the Business Interruption Insurance Coverage Act of 2020 (H.R. 6494). Thompson stated the bill is intended "to ensure businesses who purchase...more
A steady stream of COVID-19-related insurance coverage matters continues to be filed in state and federal courts across the United States. As we have previously discussed in an April 4 update and an April 9 update,...more
Since our prior post from last week, additional COVID-19 coverage lawsuits have been filed throughout the United States, and themes and insights concerning theories of coverage continue to emerge.
At least four new...more
As the number of filings of COVID-19 coverage actions continue to increase, we thought it would be useful to review these cases for our insurer readership so they can better understand the issues and themes that are emerging...more
4/8/2020
/ Bad Faith ,
Business Closures ,
Business Losses ,
Contamination ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Covenant of Good Faith and Fair Dealing ,
Denial of Insurance Coverage ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Insurance Claims ,
Insurance Litigation ,
Policy Exclusions ,
Property Damage ,
Restaurant Industry ,
State Law Claims ,
Theater Productions ,
Tribal Corporations
On March 30, 2020, a Pennsylvania federal district court granted an insurer's motion for summary judgment, ruling that coverage for a TCPA class action claim was barred by the intentional acts exclusion in its Businessowners...more
On March 26, 2020, California's Department of Insurance (the "Department") issued an "urgent data survey" to all admitted and non-admitted insurance companies, seeking information about coverage for COVID-19 business...more
Restaurants are among the leading wave of business owners filing COVID-19-related business interruption coverage actions. Illinois is now the venue of one such suit...more
The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic continues to wreak havoc across the globe and in the United States, bringing with it panic, sickness, and mass mortality. The U.S. health care system is under strain and the situation is...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
3/27/2020
/ Advertising Injury ,
Appeals ,
Biometric Information ,
Biometric Information Privacy Act ,
Class Action ,
Data Privacy ,
Denial of Insurance Coverage ,
Duty to Defend ,
Emotional Distress Damages ,
Fingerprints ,
Liability Insurance ,
Negligence ,
Policy Exclusions ,
Publication Requirement ,
Reservation of Rights ,
Statutory Violations ,
Unauthorized Disclosure ,
Unjust Enrichment
The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic—alone or coupled with government orders limiting activities—has impacted the ability of many businesses to maintain operations and to fulfill contractual obligations. Over the past few...more
In a March 18, 2020 letter to insurance industry and broker associations, a bi-partisan group of United States Congress Members urged commercial property insurers to provide business interruption coverage for COVID-19-related...more
In an update to our March 17, 2020 alert "New Jersey Legislature Considers Mandated COVID-19 Business Interruption Coverage," it is being reported that New Jersey Assembly Bill 3844—which would have required insurers to...more
The first COVID-19-related insurance coverage cases are now being filed. In Louisiana, a declaratory judgment action was brought against Certain Underwriters at Lloyd's, asking the court to rule that an all-risk policy...more
In light of anticipated losses arising from the outbreak of COVID-19, the coronavirus, New York State's Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) has instructed property/casualty insurers to prepare explanations for their...more
The insurability of civil fines imposed by the California Attorney General under the California Consumer Privacy Act ("CCPA" or "the Act") has been an area of significant concern since the CCPA's enactment in 2018. The issue...more
The Fourth Circuit recently affirmed a district court ruling that the Privacy exclusion in a series of business liability policies bars coverage for a claim arising out of the insured law firm’s alleged violation of the...more
As the coronavirus, COVID-19, continues to spread, organizations around the globe are facing mounting business disruptions and economic losses. Some of these entities may seek coverage for these losses under a variety of...more
The Bellefonte Cap -
The Bellefonte Cap is a shorthand reference to the "reinsurance accepted" limit set forth in a facultative certificate generally capping the reinsurer's obligations with respect to loss and expense...more
3/9/2020
/ Appeals ,
Contract Interpretation ,
Declaratory Relief ,
Evidentiary Hearings ,
Insurance Industry ,
Insurance Litigation ,
Liability Caps ,
Policy Terms ,
Reinsurance ,
Reinsurance Agreements ,
State Law Claims ,
Subsequent Litigation
A Mississippi federal district court became the latest to rule that Computer Fraud Transfer and Funds Transfer Fraud coverages were not applicable to losses resulting from an email phishing scam. In Miss. Silicon Holdings,...more