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?
On March 19, 2025, Judge Reed O’Connor in Liberty Mutual Fire Insurance Co. v. N. Tarrant Infrastructure LLC, No. 4:23-cv-01043-O, 2025 WL 863470 (N.D. Tex. Mar. 19, 2025) held that under the Eight-Corners Rule, Liberty...more
In Nationwide Property & Casualty Insurance Company v. Hampton Court, L.P., et al. the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia granted an insurer's motion for judgment on the pleadings that it owed...more
This insurance-coverage dispute involved alleged asbestos exposure from asbestos-containing vermiculite mined from Vermiculite Mountain outside of Libby, Mont. The court acknowledged that vermiculite ore may contain toxic...more
On December 11, 2024, the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas refused to allow extrinsic evidence under the Monroe conditions where plaintiff’s employment status and the merits of the case...more
The insured punched and kicked the Claimant, causing injuries. The Claimant sued the insured alleging that the insured assaulted him, and negligently and recklessly caused his injuries. Nationwide Mutual Fire Insurance...more
Employer’s Liability Exclusions typically apply to claims for bodily injury to employees arising out of and in the course of their employment by the insured. But, to what extent might such exclusions apply to claims for...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
Delaware Supreme Court concludes that a letter from a lawyer informing an insured of possible lawsuits without identifying potential plaintiffs or demanding payment is not a “claim for damages” within the meaning of...more
Second Circuit Holds That Malpractice Insurer Has No Duty to Defend or to Indemnify Lawyer Because Of Business Enterprise Exclusion- Associated Industries Insurance Company sued its insureds, a lawyer, and his former law...more
Mental state, in some form, is the common theme running through our first three cases this month. The Fifth Circuit decides whether directors and officers of an ice cream company, accused of breaching their fiduciary...more
The insureds, a country club and motorcycle group, held an annual motorcycle rally. They were sued by two motorcycle riders who were struck by an automobile as the riders and automobile were entering the premises of the club...more
Here are some of the leading insurance cases from the past month. The Sixth Circuit is the latest appellate court to address whether insurers must defend drug companies in local government opioid suits. Joining the Ohio...more
Court Finds That Defense Documents Must Be Produced Because Placed “At Issue” by Late Notice- In this declaratory judgment action, American Empire Surplus Lines Insurance Company sought insurance coverage on behalf of its...more
Long-tail claims involve continuous or progressive injuries that occur over the course of multiple years. Often these claims occur in the context of long-latency diseases, such as those arising from asbestos exposure, or...more
The Western District of North Carolina has held that the professional services exclusions of two different policies issued to a staffing agency negated any duty to defend a lawsuit alleging a pharmacy technician improperly...more
Applying Maine law, the United States District Court for the District of Maine has held that a legal professional liability insurer had a duty to defend an insured attorney against a suit alleging sexual assault of a client,...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
In July of 2020, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit revisited and affirmed its prediction that Texas courts will not allow extrinsic evidence to determine an insurer’s duty to defend where such evidence...more
The Second Department, Appellate Division, for the Supreme Court of New York, recently held in a matter of first impression, that an insurance company with a duty to defend may not recover defense costs after a determination...more
As a general rule, an insurer’s duty to defend arises under Florida law when the allegations of the complaint against the insured “fairly and potentially bring the suit within policy coverage.” Jones v. Fla. Ins. Guar. Ass’n,...more
Under New York law, an insurer’s duty to defend ends if it establishes as a matter of law that there is no possible factual or legal basis on which it might eventually be obligated to indemnify its insured. This rule was...more
Under Florida law, similar to that of other states, an insurer’s duty to defend is generally determined solely by the allegations found within the four corners of the complaint. Florida courts, however, recognize an exception...more
Coverage under most commercial general liability (CGL) policies applies only to liability arising from an “accident.” As such, injury or damage that an insured “expected or intended” to occur is not covered....more
There is only one thing that can be said for sure about the extent of consequences — human and economic — of the new coronavirus outbreak. Nobody knows. But, as things stand now, minor, and even moderate, have left the barn. ...more
If faced with continuous injury claims based on past acts of sexual abuse, will an insured’s general liability policies with sexual abuse coverage defend? Purchase insurance that is carefully focused on the risks your...more