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Duty to Defend

Carlton Fields

No Accident, No Duty to Defend: Meta Loses Defense Coverage for Social Media Child Harm Lawsuits

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In Hartford Casualty Insurance Co. v. Instagram LLC, the Delaware Superior Court granted the insurers’ motion for partial summary judgment, finding that various primary and excess general liability insurers had no duty to...more

DLA Piper

Fortuity - Canadian Insurance News and Trends - March 2026

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More than "but for": Ontario Court limits additional insured coverage for wedding tumble - In Van Daele v. Waring House et al, 2025 ONSC 6687, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice held that a wedding venue was not...more

Nossaman LLP

Liberty Northwest Ins. Corp. v. Atlantic Specialty Ins. Co., No. 24-7353 (9th Cir. Feb. 20, 2026) (Unpublished)

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The Ninth Circuit reversed a lower court and held that insurer Atlantic Specialty (as successor to One Beacon) had a duty to defend an employee’s suit against his employer, a semiconductor manufacturer. In the underlying...more

White and Williams LLP

Top Developments 2026 - Issue 1

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Ohio Supreme Court clarifies that attorney-client privileged communications in an insurer’s claim file are discoverable only upon a prima facie showing of “bad faith” and a determination by the trial court, following an...more

Harris Beach Murtha

Insurance Company Alleges Fraud Scheme with Staged Accidents and Litigation‑Driven Medicine

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Greater New York Mutual Insurance Company (“GNY”) recently filed a sweeping 207 page civil RICO complaint in the Eastern District of New York alleging a multi-layered insurance fraud enterprise involving personal injury law...more

Husch Blackwell LLP

Insurers Not Obligated to Defend Meta in Youth Social Media Lawsuits

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On February 27, 2026, the Delaware Superior Court issued a memorandum opinion and order in Hartford Casualty Insurance Co. et al. v. Instagram, LLC et al., granting summary judgment for a group of insurers and denying motions...more

Rivkin Radler LLP

February 2026 New York Insurance Coverage Update

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Mount Hawley Insurance Company issued a commercial general liability policy to a contractor that excluded coverage for property damage resulting from the insured’s labor, except for “interior tile” work. The insured...more

Freeman Mathis & Gary

Authorized emissions, denied coverage: A landmark ruling in Griffith Foods

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In a seminal decision, the Illinois Supreme Court held that a permit or regulation authorizing certain emissions has no bearing on the application of a liability insurance policy’s pollution exclusion to litigation based on...more

Weber Gallagher Simpson Stapleton Fires &...

A Carefully Drafted Molestation or Abuse Exclusion in a Commercial General Liability Policy Will Likely Exclude Coverage for...

Congress enacted the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2003 (TVPRA) to afford human trafficking victims a civil framework for recovering money damages from their traffickers. The statute initially limited...more

Wiley Rein LLP

Seventh Circuit Holds Excess Insurer has Right but Not Duty to Attend Mediation Before Primary Coverage is Exhausted

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The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, applying Indiana law, held that an excess liability insurer did not breach any duty where it refused to defend an insured or attend mediation on behalf of an insured where...more

Husch Blackwell LLP

Navigating the Reinsurance Landscape of Social Media Addiction Litigation

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The ongoing bellwether trial in California has brought renewed attention to an unprecedented wave of lawsuits targeting social media companies. These actions allege that major platforms are intentionally engineered to foster...more

Nossaman LLP

Judge Applies Well-Established Rules of Policy Interpretation to Narrow the Reach of an Exclusion and to Find Copyright Coverage

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In a February 10, 2026 Order, Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV granted Plaintiff-Insured’s Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings, finding that Mount Vernon had a duty to defend a copyright infringement claim brought against the real...more

Rivkin Radler LLP

January 2026 New York Insurance Coverage Update

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The insured, a plumbing company, faced millions of dollars in potential liability for claims arising from a fire at an apartment building where the insured performed work. The insured sought coverage for those claims under a...more

Goldberg Segalla

Illinois Supreme Court Resolves Hotly Contested Pollution Exclusion Issue with Significant Impact for Ethylene Oxide and Other...

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On January 23, 2026, in a case involving an insurance coverage dispute, the Illinois Supreme Court answered a question certified by the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals about whether and, to what extent, a permit or...more

Hinshaw & Culbertson - Insights for Insurers

2025 Key Insurance Developments and Trends for 2026

In 2025, Hinshaw’s global insurance services team authored several resources on key developments and decisions that impacted the US insurance industry. From our timely commentary just published in Mealey’s to the third...more

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP

Insurance – Texas Style, Part 2: Stowers Liability and Bankruptcy

This is the second in a series of discussions about insurance issues unique to the Lone Star State. Both bankruptcy and the ability for a policyholder to assign its first-party, bad-faith claim against its insurer can be...more

Wiley Rein LLP

Insured Versus Insured Exclusion Defeats Coverage for Class Action Filed by Former Director

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In a win for Wiley’s client, the United States District Court for the District of Wyoming, applying Wyoming law, held that an insured versus insured (“IvI”) exclusion barred coverage for an entire class action proceeding...more

PilieroMazza PLLC

Top 10 Killer Construction Contract Clauses, Part 3: Are the Indemnification Provisions in Your Construction Contract Enforceable?

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Construction projects involve high risk. Multiple contractors and subcontractors working on a project site—often with heavy equipment and hazardous conditions—creates the potential for significant injuries, property damages,...more

Rivkin Radler LLP

December 2025 New York Insurance Coverage Update

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A Manhattan property owner retained On Star Management LLC to manage a renovation project at its property and On Star, in turn, retained Batco Associates, LLC, to perform work at the project. Batco then retained CMG...more

Zelle  LLP

Fracking the Fine Print: The Fifth Circuit Analyzes the Duty to Defend, Bankruptcy Assignments, and the Contours of Third-Party...

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The Fifth Circuit in BPX Production Company v. Certain Underwriters at Lloyd's London, No. 23-20034, 2025 WL 2952911 (5th Cir. Oct. 20, 2025), revived oil and gas producer BPX Production Company’s contractual coverage claims...more

Wiley Rein LLP

Insurer Liable for Pollution Settlement After Denial of Defense Based on Extrinsic Evidence in Clean Water Act Suit

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The United States District Court for the Western District of Washington, applying Washington state law, has held that an environmental liability insurer breached its duty to defend in bad faith by relying on extrinsic...more

Goodell, DeVries, Leech & Dann, LLP

A Primer on the Tripartite Relationship

The tripartite relationship is a term of art which describes the complex relationship between (1) an insurance company, (2) it’s insured, and (3) defense counsel retained to represent the insured. Originally Published in...more

Wiley Rein LLP

Insured’s Motion to Stay Coverage Action Denied Where Duty to Defend is Based on Allegations Against Insured

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The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, applying Illinois law, denied an insured’s motion to stay an insurer’s declaratory judgment action seeking a declaration that it owed no duty to defend. Landmark...more

Wiley Rein LLP

Pre-Retroactive Date Conduct Forecloses Coverage for BIPA Lawsuit

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The Appellate Court of Illinois, applying Illinois law, has held that a cyber insurer had no duty to defend or indemnify its insured where the alleged misconduct occurred prior to the policy’s retroactive date. The...more

Rivkin Radler LLP

November 2025 New York Insurance Coverage Update

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Eastern District Finds Ongoing Operations Exclusion Is Unambiguous And Precludes Coverage For Worker’s Lawsuit- Steven Rodriguez owns property in Queens and leased one of the storefronts to a restaurant. Without...more

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