The Standard Formula Podcast | Understanding Insurance Resolution Regimes
Steven Hix and G. Benjamin Milam of Bradley discuss a pair of recent North Carolina Supreme Court rulings on coverage for pandemic-related losses, one of which gave policyholders a rare win. On December 13, the North...more
Well-established law requires that an insured be made whole before recoveries benefit an insurer. When an insured’s losses exceed policy limits, any additional recovery made by the insured should inure to the benefit of the...more
Wilson et al v. USI Insurance Services, LLC, et al., - In Wilson et al v. USI Insurance Services, LLC et al., No. 20-3124 (3d Cir. Oct. 8, 2024) the Third Circuit recently denied a petition for rehearing on COVID-19 related...more
In this month’s update, we discuss Russian-seized planes, Starbucks-caused traffic jams, a squabble over the use of a family name, a restaurant’s pandemic-based loss, a poorly built house, and whether insurance covers any of...more
In a recent New York Court of Appeals opinion, the court found that business losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic were not covered under an “all-risk” commercial property insurance policy. In Consolidated Rest. Operations,...more
On March 26, a containership struck the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland, resulting in the collapse of the highway infrastructure and tragic loss of life. As communities grieve the loss of their loved ones,...more
In a unanimous opinion issued yesterday, the New Jersey Supreme Court joined the majority of other courts to hold that business interruption losses related to the COVID-19 pandemic are not covered under the standard language...more
Insurance partner Rob Chaplin is joined by colleague Lamya Al-Yazdi as they introduce our “Standard Formula” listeners to the three emergent insurance resolution regimes that deal with the failure, or potential failure, of...more
All eyes are on the New Jersey Supreme Court as we await oral arguments on the latest business interruption coverage dispute. In the lawsuit, an Atlantic City casino, Ocean Walk, seeks reimbursement for costs incurred during...more
On January 6, 2023, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals handed down a unanimous opinion in Law Offices of Rhonda H. Wilson, et al. v. USI Insurance Service, et al., which was drafted by Judge Michael A. Chagares. The case is...more
“Highly protected risk” (HPR) is an insurance industry term referring to a risk that has been controlled and managed through various measures....more
In a win for Wiley’s client, the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit upheld the grant of an insurer’s motion to dismiss, applying Massachusetts law and finding that economic losses related to the COVID-19...more
When COVID-19 ground the world to a halt, policyholders and insurance-coverage attorneys made predictions about the effectiveness of insurance against coronavirus-related losses. And the outlook wasn’t great. This article...more
Along with seeking to analogize COVID-19 physical loss or damage to that in the fumes or contaminants context, policyholders are now also attempting to rely on cases discussing the bounds of physical loss or damage in the...more
Racking up three more victories at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, insurers have now prevailed in the first six decisions of United States Court of Appeal. Each of these decisions have affirmed the dismissal...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit recently affirmed the dismissal of a policyholder’s COVID-19 insurance coverage action in Santo’s Italian Café LLC v. Acuity Insurance Co., No. 21-3068 (6th Cir. Sept. 22,...more
The pace of new COVID-19 coverage actions has slowed down in recent months, but new cases continue to be filed. As of August 31, 2021, according to the Penn Law COVID Coverage Litigation Tracker, more than 1,980...more
As the second quarter of 2021 continues, one thing is clear: COVID-19 business interruption claims are here to stay for the foreseeable future. Some legislators have proposed bills that would force insurers to cover certain...more
On May 12, 2021, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed into law a bill requiring insurers to go on record as to whether their policies, which provide coverage for the loss of use and occupancy and business interruption,...more
One year ago, when the COVID-19 pandemic ground the world to a halt, our firm’s virtual offices were inundated with calls from policyholders, asking if their current and projected losses due to the pandemic would be covered...more
The tidal wave of favorable rulings for insurers in COVID-19 business interruption insurance coverage lawsuits that started in 2020 is continuing in 2021. As this blog has previously explained, commercial property insurance...more
Following up on our prior discussion of Studio 417, Inc., et al. v. The Cincinnati Ins. Comp., a different federal judge in the Western District of Missouri recently ruled in Zwillo V, Corp. v. Lexington Insurance Co. that a...more
As we wrote about in a recent article, the trends in insurance coverage for COVID-19 related losses are: 1) so far insurers are winning, and 2) the cases are fact intensive and turn on policy and pleading language. As we...more
Companies in the United States continue to file business interruption lawsuits against their insurers for claims arising from state and local government shutdown orders in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. At least 1,250...more
Two recent decisions by courts denying motions to dismiss brought by insurers against insureds seeking COVID-19 business interruption coverage could be harbingers for other such decisions due to their focus on the...more