Identifying and Quantifying Government Contract Claims
Can’t We All Just Get Along? Effective Ways to Navigate the Tri-Partite Relationship Among Policyholders, Insurers, and Insurer Chosen Defense Counsel
Settling a Claim: Get Comfortable With Being Uncomfortable
Reservation of Rights and the Insurer
The insureds were sued for alleged environmental contamination from the operation of a marine terminal and chemical storage facility. The claimants alleged that hazardous materials leaked from storage tanks over a fifty-year...more
Civil Code section 2860 authorizes the retention of independent counsel in the event a conflict of interest arises between the insurer and its insured. Under the statute a conflict of interest is deemed to arise “when an...more
Courts took up some interesting insurance questions this past month. Here’s some we address in our June Insurance Update. When a government sponsored cyberattack infects computers worldwide, does the war exclusion apply? ...more
The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, applying New York law, has held that an E&O insurer had no obligation to contribute toward the defense of an underlying matter in light of its policy’s...more
“We cannot enforce insurance provisions that render coverage so narrow it is illusory.” The Washington Supreme Court used this reasoning to hold that a contractor’s commercial general liability policy was unenforceable where...more
Not many cases in Florida analyze Professional Services Exclusions in general liability policies. However, on September 16, 2022, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals released an order providing some clarification about the...more
In Vermont Mutual Insurance Company v. Poirier, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) ruled that attorney’s fees awarded under M.G. L. c. 93A are not covered by a Businessowner’s Liability Policy, because such fees...more
In a decision addressing several coverage issues under a directors and officers liability policy, a Delaware federal court held that coverage did not extend to claims based on acts alleged to have taken place before the...more
As states push to re-open, retailers will be balancing the welcome prospect of renewed business and cash flow against the fear and cost of claims that could be made against them by customers, vendors, subcontractors, and...more
The Eleventh Circuit, in the matter of QBE Specialty Insurance Co. v. Scrap Inc., affirmed the district court’s decision to grant summary judgment in favor of QBE holding that there was no indemnity coverage for an underlying...more
On August 26, 2019, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, applying Florida Law, held that ill-gotten gains do not constitute covered “loss” within the meaning of a D&O policy. In Philadelphia Indemnity Insurance Co. v. Sabal...more
The California Supreme Court answered the Ninth Circuit’s certified question in Liberty Surplus Insurance v. Ledesma & Meyer Construction. The court rephrased the question presented to it as: “When a third party sues an...more
Lawsuits over defective construction are common in South Carolina. So, when a construction company covered by a CGL insurance policy is sued over an alleged construction defect, the insurance company may agree to defend the...more
Welcome to the first issue of our newly redesigned e-newsletter for the construction industry. The name and look of this publication may have changed, but one thing remains the same: our dedication to providing insightful,...more
For insurers, litigating third-party coverage disputes in South Carolina has always proved formidable. Insurers can be liable for “bad faith” even if there is no coverage; they may be required to pay an insured’s attorney’s...more
The South Carolina Supreme Court recently took a firm stance on what constitutes a sufficient reservation of rights letter in Harleysville Group Insurance v. Heritage Communities, Inc., et al., — S.E.2d — , No. 2013-001281,...more
The South Carolina Supreme Court’s recent decision in Harleysville Group Insurance v. Heritage Communities, Inc., Appellate Case Nos. 2013-001281 and 2013-001291, 2017 WL 105021 (S.C. Jan. 11, 2017) affirms what is and is not...more
Most non-insurance litigators run for the hills when the topic of “insurance coverage” arises. Others profess to know enough about insurance coverage just to make themselves dangerous. Considering the rising costs of...more
How often do you hear defense attorneys say, “I’m not interested in anything related to coverage. That’s not my concern.” From a coverage lawyer’s perspective, this is a dangerous position, both ethically and legally....more
On April 25, 2016, the Colorado Supreme Court issued a decision in Travelers Prop. Cas. Co. v. Stresscon Co. Stresscon, a subcontracting concrete company, entered into a settlement agreement – without providing notice to its...more
The first line of the Seventh Circuit’s opinion says it all: “This case provides a warning for insurance companies who refuse to defend their insureds.” As the court’s admonishment suggests, insurers that improperly refuse to...more
Insurance coverage counsel have been anxiously awaiting the Pennsylvania Supreme Court's decision in Babcock & Wilcox Co. v. Am. Nuclear Insurers, 2015 Pa. Lexis 1551 (July 21, 2015), since the high court agreed to hear the...more
Liability insurers are sometimes faced with a difficult scenario: Their insured has been sued in a class action with potentially large stakes. The insurer believes they have no duty to defend and a denial of coverage is...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit recently held under Georgia law that an insurance company does not waive a coverage defense by defending the policyholder in an underlying case without reserving its rights...more
The court in Perma-Pipe, Inc. v. Liberty Surplus Insurance Corporation, Case No. 13 C 2989, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 54867 (N.D. Ill. April 21, 2014), held that a CGL insurer breached its duty to defend by refusing to pay for...more