News & Analysis as of

Public Policy Insurance Litigation

Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP

John’s Grill, Inc. v. Hartford Financial Services, Group, Inc.: Illusory Coverage, Unambiguous Policy Language, and the...

In its latest Covid-era coverage case, John’s Grill, Inc. v. Hartford Financial Services, Group, Inc., the California Supreme Court held that an insured cannot use the “illusory coverage doctrine to transform the policy’s...more

Holland & Knight LLP

U.S. Supreme Court Rules on Choice-of-Law Provisions in Marine Insurance Contracts

Holland & Knight LLP on

In a 9-0 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court held on February 21, 2024, that choice-of-law clauses in marine insurance contracts are presumptively enforceable under federal maritime law. These clauses should be enforced unless...more

Hinshaw & Culbertson - Insights for Insurers

Insurance Policy Choice of Law Provision Again Faces Public Policy Challenge

A Missouri federal district court became the second court within the past 15 months to consider whether a state's public policy overrides an insurance policy's choice of law provision. Maritz Holdings v. Certain Underwriters...more

White and Williams LLP

Despite No Privity of Contract, Indiana Appellate Court Holds Additional Insured with UIM Claim May Sue for Bad Faith

White and Williams LLP on

Your friend invites you out to dinner. She offers to pick you up since your house is on the way. As you head toward the restaurant, your friend’s car is sideswiped by a driver who blew through a red light. You are seriously...more

Cozen O'Connor

New Jersey Assembly Overwhelmingly Approves Anti-STOLI Legislation

Cozen O'Connor on

As many of you may know, Cozen O’Connor was victorious last year in obtaining a ruling by the New Jersey Supreme Court in Sun Life Assurance Company v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., 238 N.J. 157 (2019) (Bergman) that...more

Carlton Fields

Third Circuit Application of Certified Questions Confirms STOLI Policies Void in New Jersey

Carlton Fields on

We previously reported on the New Jersey Supreme Court’s ruling on the validity of stranger-originated life insurance (STOLI) policies in the June 2019 issue of Expect Focus — Life, Annuity, and Retirement Solutions....more

Holland & Hart - Employers' Lawyers

Shifting the Risks of Employer’s Economic Loss Resulting from Employee Injury: Keyperson Insurance in New Mexico

What’s a New Mexico business to do if one of its key employees is absent from work due to a non-work-related injury? A pair of cases, one from the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, and another recently...more

Farella Braun + Martel LLP

3 Lessons For Calif. Insureds From Late-Notice Rule Decision

In Pitzer College v. Indian Harbor Insurance Company, the California Supreme Court resolved two previously open questions in insurance law: (1) it concluded that the notice-prejudice rule is a fundamental public policy of...more

Saul Ewing LLP

Insurers Beware: Choice of Law Provisions May be Overridden by Public Policy Provisions

Saul Ewing LLP on

In answering two questions posed to it by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, the California Supreme Court on August 29, 2019, addressed two significant issues: 1) whether California’s common law notice-prejudice rule is a...more

Buchalter

California Supreme Court holds that “Notice-Prejudice Rule” Is a “Fundamental Public Policy” of California for the Purpose of...

Buchalter on

On August 29, 2019, the California Supreme Court issued a decision on an important issue to many insurance coverage disputes. In Pitzer College v. Indian Harbor Insurance Co., the Court held that California’s...more

Farella Braun + Martel LLP

California Supreme Court Ruling Clarifies That the Notice-Prejudice Rule Is a Fundamental Public Policy That May Override Choice...

In Pitzer College v. Indian Harbor Insurance Company, the California Supreme Court resolved two previously open questions in insurance law: (1) it concluded that the notice-prejudice rule is a fundamental public policy of...more

Pillsbury - Policyholder Pulse blog

California Supreme Court Sides with Policyholder in Critical Notice-Prejudice Case

In November 2018, we noted that the California Supreme Court had agreed to resolve Pitzer College v. Indian Harbor Insurance Company, a case that hinged on the importance and application of California’s notice-prejudice rule....more

Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP

California Supreme Court Applies Notice-Prejudice Rule to Violation of First-Party Consent Provision as a Predicate to Policy...

Pitzer College v. Indian Harbor Insurance Company, — P.3d –, 2019 WL 4065521 (2019); California Supreme Court, Case No. S239510 (Aug. 29, 2019). On certified questions by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, the California...more

White and Williams LLP

California Supreme Court Holds “Notice-Prejudice” Rule is “Fundamental Public Policy” of California, May Override Choice of Law...

On August 29, 2019, in Pitzer College v. Indian Harbor Insurance Company, 2019 Cal. LEXIS 6240, the California Supreme Court held that, in the insurance context, the common law “notice-prejudice” rule is a “fundamental public...more

Maynard Nexsen

Insurance Policy Notice and Cooperation Clauses Survive Challenge

Maynard Nexsen on

South Carolina’s courts have long and consistently articulated that insurance policies are contracts, governed by the general rules of contract construction. Our courts have just as consistently held that insurers may include...more

Carlton Fields

STOLI Policies Void in New Jersey

Carlton Fields on

The New Jersey Supreme Court recently held stranger-originated life insurance (STOLI) policies void as against public policy. In Sun Life Assurance Co. of Canada v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., a $5 million policy was taken out on...more

Maynard Nexsen

Insurance Policies: Where Is the Proper Balance Between Limitation of Liability and Adherence to Public Policy

Maynard Nexsen on

It is well established that policies of insurance are contracts, subject to basic contract law. While parties are generally permitted to contract as they wish, such privilege is not absolute in the context of insurance;...more

Payne & Fears

How Insurers Try To Limit Coverage For Punitive Damages

Payne & Fears on

Insurers treat it as a given that their policies do not cover punitive damages, and insureds often mistakenly accept that premise. However, there are circumstances in which punitive damages may be covered, and some insurers...more

A&O Shearman

Superior Court Of Delaware Rules That Delaware Public Policy Does Not Prohibit Indemnification For Breach Of Duty Of Loyalty Based...

A&O Shearman on

On March 1, 2018, Judge Eric M. Davis of the Superior Court of the State of Delaware denied in part and granted in part the summary judgment motion brought by plaintiff-insurers, which provided directors and officers...more

Carlton Fields

Missouri Court Finds Insurance Contract’s Arbitration Clause Unenforceable As Against Public Policy

Carlton Fields on

This case arose from an accident at the General Motors plant in Kansas City, Kansas, where an electrician employed by Capital Electric Construction Company, Inc. was severely injured due to negligence by Solaris Power...more

Carlton Fields

Missouri Court Holds Arbitration Clause In Insurance Contract Unenforceable As Against Public Policy And Under Governing Law

Carlton Fields on

A Missouri district court recently held a mandatory arbitration provision was unenforceable in an insurance coverage dispute after an electrician was injured on the job and won an uncontested judgment in state court against...more

Carlton Fields

Blowing the Whistle on Willful Misconduct: California Court holds that False Claims Act Suits Are Uninsurable Due to Public Policy

Carlton Fields on

Willful misconduct is uninsurable. It is a fundamental principle of insurance, and it makes sense to both the lay and the lawyerly. But few states go as far as to codify this principle in the insurance code. California is an...more

Carlton Fields

Florida Appellate Court Rejects Bid to Curb Insureds’ Assignments to Contractors

Carlton Fields on

Many property insurance policies contain terms that prohibit assignment, but Florida law has long deemed those terms inoperative once a loss has occurred. E.g., W. Fla. Grocery Co. v. Teutonia Fire Ins. Co., 74 Fla. 220...more

Mayer Brown

Third Circuit Holds That Under Pennsylvania Law An Insured Against Whom Punitive Damages Have Been Imposed May Not Recover Those...

Mayer Brown on

As a matter of public policy, Pennsylvania (like a number of other states) prohibits insuring against punitive damages. But what happens if an insurer refuses to settle a case against a policyholder within policy limits and...more

24 Results
 / 
View per page
Page: of 1

"My best business intelligence, in one easy email…"

Your first step to building a free, personalized, morning email brief covering pertinent authors and topics on JD Supra:
*By using the service, you signify your acceptance of JD Supra's Privacy Policy.
- hide
- hide