First Republic Executives Fail in Attempt to Recover Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Plan Assets
Conversion of State-Law Declaratory Judgment Actions Concerning First-Party Coverage Disputes into Federal Declaratory Judgment Actions Is Not Required Upon Removal - Addressing the thorny issue of whether a state-law...more
Litigation arose over whether a suit for misrepresentation and breach of contract arising out of an easement triggered a Commercial General Liability (CGL) insurer's duty to defend. Internal confidential communications...more
Merchants Preferred Insurance Company filed a declaratory judgment action in New York seeking a declaration that it had no duty to defend or to indemnify its insureds in an underlying Florida personal injury action arising...more
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
Lost Business Income Not Covered Because Not Caused by Direct Physical Loss Or Damage, Third Department Finds- 87 Uptown Road, LLC owned an apartment complex with 11 apartment buildings in Ithaca, New York, which were...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
The Supreme Court of Delaware has held that a letter received by an insured from an attorney purporting to represent unidentified plaintiffs and forecasting future litigation did not constitute a “claim for damages” under a...more
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
On September 22, 2023, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit held in a non-precedential opinion that an insurer had no duty to defend a school bus transportation company under an auto policy for an alleged assault...more
When determining whether insurance coverage exists for a claim, a crucial consideration is whether the claim involves an event or occurrence that took place in a state other than where the relevant policy was delivered. This...more
The United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi, applying Mississippi law, has held that noncompliance with a 30-day notice provision in an asset protection policy does not bar coverage unless the...more
The rare insurance dispute has appeared on the horizon for the nation’s highest court. Last month, the U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari and agreed to take up the case of Great Lakes Insurance SE v. Raiders Retreat Realty...more
Southern District Refuses To Use Extrinsic Evidence “Bound Up With Merits” Of Underlying Action To Defeat Duty To Defend- 622 Third Avenue LLC filed a declaratory judgment action against Harleysville Worcester Insurance...more
The Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division has held that there is no coverage under an insurance broker’s claims-made professional liability policy because the policyholder reported the claim to the insurer three...more
In a September 22, 2022 decision, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York held a commercial general liability policy’s war and financial services exclusions barred coverage for a suit arising out of the...more
The United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, applying Illinois law, has held that an insurer’s complaint plausibly alleged that the insured had breached the terms of the policy’s cooperation clause....more
The rising tide of climate change lawsuits is sure to bring with it a wave of declaratory judgment actions on the issue of whether liability insurers have an obligation to defend fossil fuel producers and other climate change...more
In situations where there is a dispute over a duty to defend, an insurer may provide a defense to its insured, subject to a reservation of rights, to not only deny coverage for a defense, but also to file a declaratory...more
Fourth Department Holds Landlord Covered As Additional Insured Under Tenant’s Policy For Accident On Driveway Of Leased Premises- Technology Insurance Company, as the liability insurer for a landlord, filed a declaratory...more
Sheckler v. Auto-Owners Insurance Company, 2021 WL 493226, 2021 Ill. App. LEXIS 593 (Oct. 23, 2021), a decision of the Appellate Court of Illinois, Third Judicial District, concluded that principles of equity justified...more
On November 23, 2021, the Montana Supreme Court issued an almost unanimous decision in National Indemnity Company v. State of Montana, a ten-year-old coverage dispute arising from claims against the State of Montana alleging...more
Second Circuit Holds That General Contractor’s “True Excess” Policy Covers Owner Before Owner’s Primary Policy Because Of General Contractor’s Contractual Indemnity Obligation to Owner- The Long Island Railroad on behalf...more
Court Declines To Rescind Policy Based On Issues Of Fact As To Materiality Of Alleged Misrepresentations- Union Mutual disclaimed coverage for a fire loss at its insured’s restaurant and sought to rescind its policy based...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