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
On September 22, 2023, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit held in a non-precedential opinion that an insurer had no duty to defend a school bus transportation company under an auto policy for an alleged assault...more
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 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
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
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
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
Two more federal court judges in the Northern District of Ohio have weighed in on whether insurance carriers in the cases pending before them must cover claims for damages caused by the COVID19 pandemic. In both cases, the...more
The United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, applying Illinois law, has held that a professional liability insurer had no duty to defend or indemnify an employee of its insured realty management...more
Southern District Of New York Holds That Insured Not Entitled to Coverage For Losses Resulting From COVID-19- Sparks Steakhouse in New York City filed a coverage action against its insurer, Admiral Indemnity, alleging that...more
A Georgia federal district court recently rendered a declaratory judgment in action filed on October 3, 2017, by Jackson National Life Insurance Company (“Jackson”) against Sterling Crum (“Crum”), the transferee and secondary...more
A recent Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) decision offers guidance for situations in which a defendant settles a case and assigns its insurance rights to the plaintiff. Settlement agreements are encouraged as a matter of general...more
In a sweeping decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit extended the absolute pollution exclusion to the unplanned discharge of “rock fines,” pellets produced during quarry operations, and denied coverage for...more
Although attempts have been made to expand the meaning of “legally entitled to recover” when the municipal statutory damages cap is involved, plaintiffs have not been successful in recovering beyond the statutory cap in...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
Your client wants to recover damages for breach of contract and demands that you assert as many causes of action as possible. In addition to the breach cause of action, you consider a declaratory judgment claim, right? ...more
A lawsuit filed by Danielle Roland against Klub Kutter’s Bar & Lounge alleged that on September 6, 2015, Roland was a “business invitee” at Klub Kutter’s in Fort Lauderdale, Florida....more