Hinshaw Releases Second Edition of Duty to Defend: A Fifty-State Survey
Loading and Unloading Under GL and Auto Policies: 2022
Prior & Pending Litigation
What is a Damron Agreement?
The United States District Court for the Northern District of California, applying California law, has held that a retroactive date endorsement limited coverage to $1 million if a claim involved wrongful acts occurring prior...more
In Home Depot Inc. v. Steadfast Insurance Co., Home Depot learned the hard way a rule every DIY enthusiast knows: measure twice, cut once. It appears Home Depot’s measurements were off when it sized up its insurance needs,...more
The foundation of a policyholder’s agreement to pay premiums for a standard commercial general liability policy (CGL) is the insurer’s agreement to defend the policyholder against lawsuits and shoulder the costs of the...more
Fernandez v. Old Republic Nat’l Title Ins. Co., Fla. 3d DCA, No. 3D23-1088, December 4, 2024 - The Third District Court of Appeals reversed a trial court’s ruling and ordered the insurance carrier, Old Republic National Title...more
An owner, general contractor (GC) and subcontractor (Sub) were sued by injured workers at a construction site, and they were defended by the Sub’s insurer, U.S. Specialty Insurance Company. U.S. Specialty tendered their...more
The outcome of a multimillion-dollar suit was in the hands of a jury of 12 good and honorable citizens. The question: Was a certain party an agent, consultant, contractor, or none of the above? One side wanted the jury to be...more
On June 12, 2023, the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia held in WW Consultants, Inc. v. Pocahontas County Public Service District and A-3 USA, Inc., Orders Construction Company, Inc., and Pipe Plus, Inc., No. 21-0485,...more
Indemnity clauses can give rise to a duty to defend or duty to indemnify. This post reviews some basics of when such duties arise under Texas, New York, and California law: Can the duty to defend or to indemnify be determined...more
The indemnification clause is one of the most important provisions in a construction contract. It transfers risk from one party, the “indemnitee,” to another party, the “indemnitor.” The risk is transferred by way of the...more
Contract Interpretation McCruter v. Travelers Home & Marine Ins. Co., 11th Dist. Lake No. 2019-L-167, 2021-Ohio-472- In this appeal, the Eleventh Appellate District affirmed in part and reversed in part the lower court’s...more
The phase “defend, indemnify, and hold harmless” is found in many, if not most, contracts with liability allocation provisions, across multiple industries. However, many parties do not have a complete understanding of what,...more
Hub City Enterprises Inc. and Wall St. Enterprises of Orlando Inc. ran an event called “Rum Fest 2017” in Orlando, Fla. Sounds like fun, doesn’t it? But one of the partygoers, who apparently paid to attend the festival, was...more
The Ninth Circuit reversed the District of Montana’s denial of a motion to compel arbitration on the grounds that “the insurer was estopped from asserting contract defenses as a result of its breach of its duty to defend.” ...more
Although it has become common for corporate directors and officers to face claims seeking to hold them personally liable for alleged damages resulting from actions taken in their official capacity, it wasn’t always this way....more
This article addresses potential issues and concerns, which may arise between General Contractors (“General”), Subcontractors (the “Sub”) and their insurers when claims by outside parties (also known as third-parties) may...more
In Netherlands Ins. Co. v. Cellar Advisors, LLC, 2019 U.S. Dist. Lexis 10655 (E.D. Mo.), the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri considered the scope of a waiver of subrogation clause in two wine...more
In Housing. Auth. of New Orleans v. Landmark Ins. Co., 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 24419 (E.D. La. Feb. 29, 2016), the court provided a rare analysis of the interplay between a duty to defend in a D&O policy and the allocation...more
The importance of the ordinary reservation of rights letter – “we will defend you, but that doesn’t mean we’re going to pay a judgment” — is well known. A different kind of reservation of rights letter – “We will defend you...more
Countless indemnity agreements run along these lines: A hereby promises to defend, indemnify, and hold B harmless against all claims [etc.] caused by A’s negligence [etc.]...more
In Underwriters of Interest v. ProBuilders Specialty Ins. Co. (No. D066615; filed 10/23/15), a California appeals court refused to enforce an “escape” other insurance clause in an insurer versus insurer contribution action,...more
In Fluor Corporation v. Superior Court (No. S205889; filed 8/20/15), the California Supreme Court overruled its earlier decision in Henkel Corp. v. Hartford Accident & Indemnity Co. (2003) 29 Cal.4th 934, holding that...more
Insurance policies typically include a cooperation clause, which requires the insured to cooperate with the insurer in the defense of a covered claim. Insurers routinely use this clause as a sword against their insureds by...more