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Insurance Contracts Contract Terms Insurance Litigation

Gray Reed

Marcel Exception to Louisiana Oilfield Anti-Indemnity Act Clarified

Gray Reed on

An understanding of Willis v. Barry Graham Oil Service LLC requires knowledge of two principles underlying the Louisiana Anti-Oilfield Indemnity Act: The LOAIA bars an oilfield agreement to the extent that the agreement...more

Carlton Fields

California Appellate Court Rules Wildfire Debris Does Not Qualify as “Direct Physical Loss” Under Homeowners Insurance Policy

Carlton Fields on

The Second Appellate District of the California Court of Appeal recently affirmed a lower court ruling that wildfire debris on an insured’s property did not qualify as “direct physical loss” within the meaning of a homeowners...more

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP

Insurance in the Know (Part 3): Recoupment of Defense Costs Is Not a “Right” in a Standard CGL Policy

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

Marshall Dennehey

Take a Closer Look: The Precise Language of an Out-of-State Coverage Provision Leads To Varying Results

Marshall Dennehey on

Key Points: Where the language in an insurance contract is plain and unambiguous, the courts must interpret the terms of the contract according to their plain meaning as written....more

Vedder Price

Global Transportation Finance Newsletter: April 2024

Vedder Price on

Drafters beware! No assignment clauses vs transfers by operation of law - In Dassault Aviation SA v Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Co Ltd1 , the Court of Appeal found that the transfer of rights to an insurer by operation of...more

Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick, LLP

Tort Choice-of-Law Principles Apply to Bad Faith Claims

In a recent decision, the Ohio Supreme Court held that Section 145 of the Restatement of the Law 2d, Conflict of Laws must be applied when determining the state law applicable to an insured’s bad faith claim. Noting that bad...more

Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP

Failure to Timely Produce in Discovery Underlying Written Contract with Insured Prevented General Contractor from Establishing...

Voyager Indemnity Insurance Company (“Voyager) issued a commercial liability insurance policy to MRB Construction, Inc. (“MRB Construction”), a framing subcontractor. As is common with such policies, MRB Construction’s policy...more

Carlton Fields

District Court Enforces Mandatory Arbitration Clause, Despite State Law Prohibiting Such Provisions in Insurance Contracts

Carlton Fields on

Defendants, Certain Underwriters at Lloyd’s and its third-party claims administrator, CJW & Associates, sought to enforce a mandatory arbitration clause in a Lloyd’s policy issued to the plaintiffs. ...more

Carlton Fields

Court Denies Motion to Reconsider Order Compelling Arbitration

Carlton Fields on

Plaintiffs Kevin Struss, Struss Farms LLC, and Struss & Cook Farms brought certain tort and breach of contract claims against Rural Community Insurance Co. (RCIC) and Scott Laaveg, RCIC’s claims representative. The claims...more

Zelle  LLP

Vague Contract Terms Do Not Always Mean The Insurer Loses

Zelle LLP on

A seminal rule of contract construction is the contra proferentem doctrine — summarized as “the contract is construed against the drafter.” This rule is a long-standing principle of common law contract interpretation,...more

Butler Snow LLP

Contracts May “Legally” Obligate a Party to Pay, Even Without a Court Judgment

Butler Snow LLP on

Time and again, courts have been tasked with construing ambiguous and inconsistent terms in contracts. Recently, the Sixth Circuit revisited the issue of interpreting contractual language in Dark Horse Express, LLC v. Lancer...more

Jones Day

New York High Court Confirms No "Blanket Rule" on Reinsurance Limits

Jones Day on

The Situation: This past month, the New York Court of Appeals considered whether New York law imposes a "rule of construction" or "strong presumption" that a reinsurance contract's limit of liability provision caps the...more

Zelle  LLP

Florida Should Move Away From Lex Loci Contractus

Zelle LLP on

All litigators know choice of law issues can be complex, fact-intensive and outcome determinative. This is particularly true in cases involving subject matters where the individualized state laws are so divisive, which is the...more

Carlton Fields

A Stitch in Time Saves … An Insured From Incurring Non-Covered Defense Costs

Carlton Fields on

Timely notice is typically a condition precedent to coverage under an insurance contract, though many states require an insurer to demonstrate prejudice before denying coverage solely based on a failure to comply with a...more

Bass, Berry & Sims PLC

Chris Lazarini Comments on Ambiguity in Insurance Policy - Thought Leadership - Bass Berry

Bass, Berry & Sims PLC on

Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Chris Lazarini commented a case in which a broker-dealer claimed the term "final judgment" in its insurance policy was ambiguous and should be construed against its insurance carrier, as is typical...more

Zelle  LLP

Contra Proferentem Doesn’t Always Mean ‘Against the Insurer’

Zelle LLP on

Despite best efforts, ambiguities are inevitable in contracts. The doctrine of contra proferentem shifts the risk of ambiguity to the party that drafted the contract. The doctrine is frequently applied against insurers where...more

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