In the intricate landscape of catastrophic trucking cases and the interplay of multiple layers of liability insurance can resemble a precarious game of Jenga. Each move carries the potential to destabilize the structure,...more
Every policyholder will likely face a scenario where its primary insurer refuses a settlement offer within limits. The primary insurer is potentially liable for that excess verdict if it acted in bad faith by refusing to...more
An insurer defending a claim against an insured that could exceed policy limits has a good faith obligation to settle the claim if possible. Failure to do so puts a nonsettling insurer at grave risk. An Eleventh Circuit...more
Scottsdale Ins. Co. v. Addison Ins. Co., No. SC 93792 (Mo. Dec. 9, 2014). Supreme Court of Missouri rules in an en banc decision that neither an excess judgment nor a failure to pay policy limits are essential elements...more
Insurers don’t, as a rule, like bad faith suits. But life can play funny tricks—as when a judgment against an insured breaches a layer of excess coverage, because the primary carrier failed to settle within its policy...more
Quincy Mutual Fire Ins. Co. v. New York Central Mutual Fire Ins. Co., No 3:12-CV-1041-DEP (N.D.N.Y. March 31, 2014) - The Northern District of New York held that a primary carrier that declined to settle an underlying...more
Getting Over the Bar: Second Circuit Requires Actual Payment of Underlying Limits In Order to Trigger Excess D&O Policies - In June, the Second Circuit held that two Federal Insurance Company ("FIC") excess D&O...more