Breaking Down Bad Faith: Insurers’ Good Faith Duties and Defending Bad Faith Claims
An Uncompromising Insurer: What is a Policyholder to Do?
Hinshaw Insurance Law TV: Recent Changes in Florida Property Insurance Law and How They Will Affect First Party Insurance
Podcast - The Briefing from the IP Law Blog: Lord of The Rings Author’s Estate Clings to its Precious Trademark, Blocking JRR Token
The Briefing from the IP Law Blog: Lord of The Rings Author’s Estate Clings to its Precious Trademark, Blocking JRR Token
Butler's Thursday Tips #7 | Civil Remedy Notices
Subro Sense Podcast - Considerations In Fixed Funds/Limited Pool Scenarios
Protecting Your Brand in China
A New Jersey appellate court, applying New Jersey law, has held that the capacity exclusion in a directors and officers policy precluded coverage for a settlement of lawsuits alleging that an insured director defrauded a...more
The parent of an infant sued Kim Eichle for Eichle’s alleged negligence in serving alcohol to her houseguest, Jacob Russo, who allegedly assaulted the infant, and for negligence in failing to keep the sidewalk at her...more
Claims Made and Reported policies are their own animal. Proper reporting of claims is vital to ensure coverage for any loss. Knowing what constitutes a “claim” that must be reported and when and how to report the claim can be...more
On March 16, 2022, U.S. District Judge William Alsup of the Northern District of California certified two of the hot button issues splitting district courts on the standard for pleading willful infringement (see order),...more
The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit denied a petition for mandamus relief from an order transferring a first-filed declaratory judgment action from the District of New Jersey to the Western District of Texas,...more
ENERGY HEATING, LLC v. HEAT ON-THE-FLY, LLC - Before Moore, Prost, and Stoll. Appeal from the U.S. District Court for the District of North Dakota. Summary: Enforcing a patent with knowledge that it is invalid can...more
A recent federal appeals court case applying Utah law goes to the heart of the conflict that arises between a policyholder and insurer when an insurer defends a policyholder under a reservation of rights and receives a...more
When it comes to commercial general liability coverage, sometimes things are not what they seem. Some policy language looks like it has a clear meaning. But it turns out that there is more than meets the eye. To see this, you...more
Last week, in Conte’s Pasta Co. v. Republic Franklin Insurance Co., a New Jersey federal court ruled that Republic Franklin Insurance Co. was obligated to indemnify Conte’s Pasta for the costs incurred defending against a...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
In a precedential decision, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) dismissed a petition for inter partes review (IPR), finding that the one-year time limit for filing an IPR petition under 35 USC § 315(b) is triggered even...more
Recently, the United States District Court in South Carolina, 2019 WL 689545, dismissed a claim seeking a declaratory judgment that an insurer failed to settle an underlying tort claim. Briefly, plaintiff Church Creek...more
In Homeland Insurance Company of New York v. CorVel Corporation, the Delaware Supreme Court addressed whether a bad faith claim accrues under the Louisiana Bad Faith Statute once the insured could plead damages or not until a...more
In part one of this blog I discussed intervention, one option insurers may have when coverage questions arise. As I noted in my prior blog, procedures for intervention vary by state, and some states simply do not allow an...more
A complicated and interesting factual history, along with a number of actions, including an earlier one for declaratory judgment, resulted in a thoughtful and reasoned opinion of the United States District Court for South...more
The Holding - In Hoarau v. Safeco Ins. Co. of America, 2017 WL 3328078 (D.Ariz. August 4, 2017), the Arizona District Court denied an insured's Motion to Remand in an insurance bad faith, punitive damages, and declaratory...more
Professionals and practitioners in first party property insurance are likely familiar with the efficient proximate cause rule, which requires an insurance policy to provide coverage where “a covered peril sets in motion a...more
The West Virginia Supreme Court recently granted an insurer the extraordinary legal remedy of a writ of prohibition, awarding it an immediate dismissal of the insureds’ bad faith claims. State ex rel. Universal Underwriters...more
This case involves the unfortunate deterioration of a marriage, as well as the couple’s winery venture, carried on through various LLCs. The decision illustrates the seriousness with which the Court of Chancery views the...more
Defendant Icon Legacy Custom Modular was sued in two separate state court proceedings: one in New York and one in Massachusetts. Plaintiff Westfield Insurance Company initially agreed to defend Icon as to those actions, but...more
On June 1, 2016, the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas ordered Cigna to pay nearly $13.7 million to Humble Surgical Hospital, LLC (“Humble”). Of the nearly $13.7 million, almost $11.4 million...more
An increasingly popular tool in the insurer’s toolset is attempted rescission of the policy. This tool is particularly sharp if the law applicable to the construction of the policy is that of New York. Earlier this week, the...more
A reinsurer filed a complaint in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania seeking declaratory relief regarding its obligations under a reinsurance contract on May 7, 2015. The defendants filed an action concerning the same...more
When a business is faced with the potential for litigation, it is imperative that all evidence be preserved to avoid the dreaded “s” word: spoliation. Starbucks Corporation recently learned this lesson the hard way when a...more
Granite State Ins. Co. v. Integrity Structures, LLC, No. C14-5085BHS, 2015 WL 136006 (W.D. Wash. Jan. 9, 2015). The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington held that an insurer did not act in bad faith...more