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
In GuideOne National Insurance Co. v. Systems 2000 Plumbing Service Inc., a New York federal judge found, following a bench trial, that reformation of an excess contract was warranted for two independent reasons to strike an...more
Excess carriers face a unique challenge: estimating where a potentially high-value claim will end up before most of the pertinent facts have come to light. This endeavor can feel like predicting the damage a Category 5...more
As the world confronts more mass shootings, these tragic events leave courts continuing to confront their effects on insurance coverage. A federal appeals court in Florida recently addressed the issue of how many...more
The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, applying New York law, upheld an arbitration award allocating 100% of amounts incurred jointly by insured individuals and non-insured entities to covered...more
A recent decision from the Southern District of New York provides D&O policyholders with favorable precedent on allocation, best-efforts obligations, and insurability. In Flextronics International Ltd. v. Allianz Global...more
In the aftermath of the Parkland school shooting in 2018, victims filed over sixty lawsuits against the Broward County Sheriff’s Office (“BCSO”) for failing to secure Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. The BCSO tendered...more
An Overview of The Duty to Defend- Many insurance policies issued as primary layer coverage establish two separate principal duties on the part of the insurer: the duty to defend and the duty to indemnify. 1. The duty to...more
A recent coverage decision by the Delaware Superior Court in Motive Technologies, Inc. v. Associated Industries Insurance Company shows that examining the full timeline of allegations in a lawsuit can defeat policy exclusions...more
The Delaware Superior Court, applying New York law, has held that cyber liability insurers had a duty to defend a lawsuit including allegations that raised “a reasonable probability of liability” related to alleged misconduct...more
In Brandt v. Superior Court, 37 Cal.3d 813, 817 (1985), the California Supreme Court recognized an insured’s right to seek recovery of attorneys’ fees incurred to compel the payment of policy benefits unreasonably withheld by...more
The insured manufactured products in the 1980s that may have contained asbestos and was named in thousands of asbestos-related bodily injury lawsuits. With the help of an insurance archeologist, the insured searched for...more
Northern District Finds Modified Employer’s Liability Exclusion In Policy Ambiguous - The general contractor for a construction project hired DJ Heating & Cooling to perform HVAC work at the project and Rocker II Drywall...more
The Northern District of Texas recently issued a pivotal decision for long-tail injury cases. It clarified that under Texas law, excess liability coverage for long-tail injury claims can center on an exposure trigger theory....more
A worker was injured when he fell from a ladder while working for a subcontractor at a construction project. The injured worker sued the owner of the project, seeking damages for his injuries. The owner was defended by its...more
On May 2, 2025, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals issued an opinion in AdHealth Limited v. PorterCare Adventist Health Systems affirming the lower court’s summary judgment ruling that a hospital’s excess liability insurance...more
“Acme General Contracting, LLC: Licensed and insured!” If you’ve ever retained a home-improvement contractor, you’ve almost certainly received enthusiastic assurances that he or she is “licensed and insured.” But what...more
Asbestos fibers, chemical fumes, environmental pollutants—what do they have in common? They all involve injuries that manifest over time and are continuously at the center of the complex exposure trigger debate....more
Excess insurance policies are generally written to be just that; they—through their “other insurance” provisions—purport apply in excess of other insurance available to the insured. In many jurisdictions, courts will commonly...more
This is the first in a series of discussions about insurance issues unique to the Lone Star State. For nearly a century, the Stowers doctrine has been a critical cornerstone of Texas insurance law protecting insureds...more
Lynda A. Bennett, Heather Weaver, and Josh Weisberg of SterlingRisk continue their year-end conversation about what changed in the insurance recovery space in 2024 and what to expect in 2025. Lynda, Heather, and Josh...more
The United States District Court for the District of Columbia, applying Virginia law, denied an insured’s motion for partial judgment on the pleadings in part, finding that an insured person’s receipt of a subpoena does not...more
Just as the oilfield fuels the modern economy, master service agreements (MSAs) fuel the modern oilfield. But while almost every MSA contains indemnity and insurance clauses, experienced oilfield lawyers will advise their...more
Applying California law, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California has held that an antitrust exclusion in a D&O policy bars coverage for lawsuits alleging violation of antitrust laws, violation...more
The California Court of Appeal, applying California law, has affirmed a trial court’s decision dismissing claims with prejudice against two excess carriers for the insureds’ failure to allege exhaustion of the underlying...more