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
In this episode of "Don’t Take No for an Answer," Lynda A. Bennett and Alexander B. Corson explore the complex issue of "allocation" in the context of defense costs in insurance claims. They discuss what steps to take when...more
This is the first in a series of discussions about issues that arise on a regular basis after policyholders file an insurance claim. Many liability insurance policies require the insurer to defend the insured. This “duty...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
Where a liability carrier has assumed its insured’s defense under a reservation of rights, a variety of conflicts between those parties may arise when there are settlement discussions to resolve the underlying litigation....more
Second Circuit Holds That Insurer Precluded From Relying On Exclusions Because Unreasonably Delayed Disclaiming While Basis Was, Or Should Have Been, Apparent- In December 2015, Luis Alberto was working on a construction...more
In situations where there is a dispute over a duty to defend, an insurer may provide a defense to its insured, subject to a reservation of rights, to not only deny coverage for a defense, but also to file a declaratory...more
Texas practitioners can add a new term to their legal vocabulary: “the Monroe exception.” The Texas Supreme Court has finally weighed in on whether to create an exception to the eight corners rule when determining if an...more
A federal district court, applying California law, has held that an insurer owed a duty to defend and indemnify an insured in an underlying nuisance litigation under a not-for-profit D&O policy, as the policy’s pollution,...more
Many states have statutes or public policy that prohibits insurers from indemnifying policyholders for claims caused by their own willful acts. This is typical in the context of criminal acts or punitive damages, which many...more
The United States District Court for the District of South Dakota, applying South Dakota law, has held that an insured healthcare system was barred from settling without its healthcare liability insurer’s consent where the...more
In a highly anticipated case before Illinois' highest court, the justices recently found an insurance carrier’s business liability policy requires it to defend a lawsuit alleging violations of the Illinois Biometric...more
The insured was sued in an underlying action seeking damages and injunctive relief for alleged trademark infringement. The insured tendered the action to its CGL insurer which disclaimed. The insured settled the underlying...more
The Nevada Supreme Court held that insurers may seek reimbursement of defense costs if a court determines that it owed no duty to defend and the insurer reserved reimbursement rights. In Nautilus Insurance Company v....more
In our March Insurance Update, we discuss four state supreme court cases and four cybercrime cases. The state high courts address: •From whose perspective should a consent-to-settle provision be judged? •What standard...more
In July of 2020, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit revisited and affirmed its prediction that Texas courts will not allow extrinsic evidence to determine an insurer’s duty to defend where such evidence...more
Given the breadth of the duty to defend, liability insurers often must defend insureds against claims that do not ultimately trigger the duty to indemnify. In some states, an insurer can offer a defense under a reservation of...more
Under established Illinois law, an insurer must defend a legal action filed against its insured unless it is clear from the face of the underlying complaint that the allegations fail to state facts which bring the case...more
The Connecticut Supreme Court recently addressed whether an insurer has a duty to defend when faced with legal uncertainty as to whether coverage is owed: for example, when there is no Connecticut case law on point, and...more
On March 20, 2020, the Illinois Appellate Court for the First District issued its decision in the case of West Bend Mutual Insurance Company v. Krishna Schaumburg Tan, Inc., 2020 IL App (1st) 191834, 2020 WL 191834, a...more
An Illinois state appellate court recently ruled that a customer's biometric privacy class action claims against an insured tanning salon potentially fell within two insurer's personal injury coverage. See, West Bend Mutual...more
When an insurer pursues a judicial determination on its duty to defend and agrees to defend its insured retroactively only five months after its insured initially requested a defense, has it breached its duty to defend? In...more
Miller Marital Deduction Trust v. Zurich American Insurance Company, — P.3d –, 2019 WL 5304862; First Appellate District Court of Appeal, Division Three, Case No. A155398 (October 21, 2019). In Miller Marital Deduction...more
Florida House Bill 301—approved by the Florida Legislature in the 2019 Regular Session and signed by the Governor—addressed a number of different issues relating to insurance in Florida. This article discusses four of those...more
It’s a familiar story to anyone involved in insurance claims. A policyholder is sued and tenders the claim to its insurer. The insurer agrees to defend subject to a reservation of rights, but it also asserts that policy...more
In an unpublished decision, the Ninth Circuit affirmed the Central District of California’s interpretation of the related acts provision in a professional liability policy, holding that related acts reported in a prior policy...more