General Liability
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April 22, 2024
Colo. Justices Clarify Med Mal Damages Cap Calculation
The Colorado Supreme Court held Monday that a trial court can't consider a victorious medical malpractice plaintiff's insurance liabilities to statutorily cap his award at $1 million, saying an exception to the state's "collateral source" statute bars application.
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April 22, 2024
Ill. Panel Relieves Insurer Of $8.3M Cracker Caper Judgment
An insurer was relieved of covering a dispute between cracker manufacturers, an Illinois state appeals panel affirmed, finding allegations of equipment theft that led to an $8.3 million judgment against Distinctive Foods LLC constituted non-covered intentional interference with RyKrisp LLC.
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April 19, 2024
CORRECTED: Fla. Jury Says AIG Mishandled Claim For Irma Damage
A Florida federal jury on Friday found that AIG mishandled part of the claims process for damage from Hurricane Irma to a $95 million oceanfront mansion near Miami but declined to award punitive damages against the insurer.
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April 19, 2024
Mich. Judge Says $12K Fee Spat 'Tremendous Waste Of Time'
A Michigan federal judge on Friday urged attorneys in a slip-and-fall suit to figure out a $12,000 fee dispute soon or risk having to spend a day in person with him in a conference with their clients, something he joked that "nobody ever wants to do."
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April 19, 2024
The Week In Trump: NY Trial And A High Court Date Loom
Despite a few snags, jury selection for Donald Trump's hush money trial in Manhattan unfolded relatively quickly, clearing the way for opening statements Monday in the historic case as the former president prepped for a U.S. Supreme Court debate over his supposed immunity.
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April 18, 2024
Justices' Corporate Disclosure Ruling Dodges D&O Upheaval
A U.S. Supreme Court decision that limited when securities fraud claims can be brought for a failure to disclose information relieved policyholder experts, who told Law360 that the justices avoided major consequences for directors and officers policies.
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April 18, 2024
Mich. High Court Takes Up Insurer Garnishment Dispute
The Michigan Supreme Court agreed Thursday to consider whether an insurer's supposed bad faith refusal to settle a claim can be litigated in a garnishment action in The Burlington Insurance Co.'s appeal of an injured worker's attempt to collect the unsatisfied portion of a $13.7 million judgment.
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April 18, 2024
Four Environmental Issues Insurers Eye On Earth Day
From questions over climate disclosure rules to a rapidly increasing landscape of flood risk, Earth Day this year offers a chance to take stock of how much climate change has affected the insurance industry and the consumers that rely on it for disaster relief. Here, ahead of the annual quasi-holiday on April 22, Law360 looks at some of the most important insurance trends and stories related to the environment.
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April 18, 2024
Insurance Litigation Week In Review
California's attorney general stepped into an unfair competition dispute with State Farm, Allstate demanded that a former contractor stop spreading lies, a session replay suit against Liberty Mutual was paused, and the Eleventh Circuit pondered whether an insurer should pay a nonapportioned settlement.
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April 18, 2024
Ohtani Theft Scandal Loads Bases For Insurance Claims
The embezzlement and sports betting scandal that has ensnared Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani's former interpreter could implicate a range of insurance and civil litigation possibilities, coverage experts say, pointing to criminal allegations that Ohtani was defrauded of $16 million.
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April 18, 2024
Admiral Balks At Covering Menendez Ally In Pollution Suit
Admiral Insurance Co. is asking a New Jersey federal court for a declaration that it owes no coverage to a businessman who is a co-defendant in U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez's bribery trial in a decade-long suit by Edgewater Borough over contamination at a construction site.
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April 17, 2024
Wash. Winemaker Wants Insurers To Cover $30M Spoiled Wine
A Washington state winemaker has launched a lawsuit against certain Lloyd's of London underwriters in state court, seeking coverage under a pair of insurance policies for more than $30 million worth of cabernet sauvignon that became too acidic to sell while being stored by another wine producer prior to bottling.
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April 17, 2024
Liberty Mutual's Spyware Suit Halted Pending 3rd Circ. Appeal
A proposed class action accusing Liberty Mutual of using software to track customers' actions on its website without consent was put on hold Wednesday by a Pennsylvania federal judge pending guidance from the Third Circuit in a similar case.
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April 16, 2024
3rd Circ. Cuts Claims In Geico Vehicle Value-Adjustment Suit
A New Jersey couple can't bring class-action claims against Geico over it allegedly knocking too much off the payout value on totaled cars, since the company ultimately adjusted their personal claim settlement offer upward, a Third Circuit panel has ruled.
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April 16, 2024
11th Circ. Asks If Undivided Settlement Can Still Be Covered
An Eleventh Circuit panel seemed torn Tuesday on whether to allow insurance coverage for a $557,000 nonapportioned Georgia federal settlement that potentially included both covered theft and noncovered negligent deconstruction, awarded to a Georgia mill owner who hired the insured.
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April 16, 2024
AIG Unit Must Cover $20M Botched Tunnel Project, Court Told
A Michigan county's water resources commissioner and sewage disposal system accused an AIG unit of failing to arbitrate their coverage claims over a design contractor's faulty work on a tunnel project, claiming they've suffered more than $20 million in damages.
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April 15, 2024
Baltimore Taps DiCello Levitt, Saltz Mongeluzzi For Key Bridge
The city of Baltimore announced Monday it has hired DiCello Levitt and Saltz Mongeluzzi Bendesky PC as it plans legal action against those responsible for a container ship destroying the Francis Scott Key Bridge last month, the same day FBI agents boarded the ship as part of a criminal investigation.
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April 15, 2024
Diocese Says Insurer Must Refund Sex Abuse Claims Defense
Certain underwriters at Lloyd's of London must pay defense expenses related to sexual abuse claims against the Roman Catholic Diocese of Rockville Centre, the diocese has told a New York court, maintaining that its bankruptcy proceedings do not relieve the insurer of reimbursement requirements.
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April 12, 2024
Mich. Panel Says Out-Of-State Car Accident Isn't Covered
A Michigan resident is not entitled to insurance benefits for a car accident under the state's no-fault law, a state appeals court has ruled, reinstating its previous decision that claimants are not eligible for state-provided benefits for injuries arising from out-of-state accidents.
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April 12, 2024
The Week In Trump: Catch Up On The Ex-President's Cases
Donald Trump and his legal team proved that they are nothing if not persistent as they repeatedly tried — and failed — to hit the brakes on the former president's porn star hush money trial in Manhattan.
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April 12, 2024
Chubb Unit Must Contribute To Fatal Crash Deal, Lowe's Says
A Chubb unit wrongly refused to contribute its $10 million policy limits to a settlement in a Texas state court suit over a crash involving a Lowe's employee that killed an infant and seriously injured the child's parents, the home improvement giant has told a North Carolina federal court.
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April 11, 2024
Norfolk's Proposed Deal Shows Risk Management Is Critical
Norfolk Southern Railway Co.'s proposed $600 million settlement with residents and businesses stemming from last year's train derailment and toxic chemical spill in East Palestine, Ohio, highlights the importance of a proactive risk management department and transparency between policyholders and carriers, experts say.
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April 11, 2024
Insurer AI Rules Push Self-Oversight, Leave Enforcement Hazy
State regulators across the United States that advise insurers to establish protocols for testing, documenting and governing their artificial intelligence tools are offering clarity for companies to self-regulate, but leaving the prospect of enforcement vague, experts said.
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April 11, 2024
Chubb-Archdiocese Suit Raises Coverage Burden Issue
A Chubb lawsuit against the Archdiocese of New York over indemnity for sexual abuse claims is implicating questions over which party has the burden to show if a liability might be covered or not, a dispute inextricably tied to justice for the church's many alleged victims.
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April 11, 2024
NJ Diocese Says Don't Stop Ch. 11 Plan For Insurers' Appeal
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Camden, New Jersey, and a committee representing sexual abuse claimants have urged a bankruptcy judge to deny insurers' bid for a long-term stay on implementation of the diocese's reorganization plan while the carriers appeal its confirmation, asserting the appeal repeats arguments the court repeatedly rejected.
Expert Analysis
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Fla. Evidence Code Update Lowers Burden For Image Use
Florida's recent evidence code change permits judicial notice of images and certain other graphics, a hugely meaningful development for litigants across a wide range of practice areas, though the effect will likely be immediately felt in property insurance cases, say Eve Cann and David Levin at Baker Donelson.
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7th Circ. 'Reasonable Costs' Ruling Is A Win For Policyholders
The Seventh Circuit's decision in USA Gymnastics v. Liberty Insurance last month establishes useful precedent for policyholders, affirming and expanding on its rule that defense costs are presumed to be reasonable and necessary when insurers breach their duty to defend, say attorneys at Reed Smith.
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A Road Map To Insurance For PFAS Claims And Suits
In light of an uptick in regulation and litigation surrounding per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, product manufacturers potentially facing down massive liability settlements must properly investigate and understand the full scope of insurance available, says Jodi Green at Miller Nash.
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Forecasting A Rise In 11th Circ. State Court Class Actions
Two recent opinions from the Eleventh Circuit have created an unusual landscape that may result in a substantial increase of class action litigation in state courts, particularly in Florida, that will be unable to utilize removal tools such as the Class Action Fairness Act, says Alec Schultz at Hilgers Graben.
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Readying Companies For PFAS Regulation And Liability
Managing the uptick in regulatory oversight of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances and the potential civil liability for companies will require action now, from performing audits and reviewing insurance coverage to considering the Texas two-step merger method, say attorneys at Haynes and Boone.
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Contra Proferentem Will Remain Alive And Well In NY
Although a recent Law360 guest article argues that a New York state court's decision in Brooklyn Union Gas v. Century Indemnity creates a blanket exception to the principle that contractual ambiguities are construed against the drafter, leading appellate decisions suggest that the exception would only be applied under narrow circumstances, say attorneys at Pillsbury.
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Pa. Cannabis Banking Law Won't Allay Finance Industry Fears
Though a new Pennsylvania law allows financial institutions and insurers to provide services to the state’s legal cannabis industry, it’s unlikely to assuage most financial industry operators’ fears of federal reprisal, and their reluctance to work with cannabis businesses will surely persist, says Michael Sampson at Leech Tishman.
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NY Insurance Ruling Reveals Limits Of Contra Proferentem
A New York state court's decision in Brooklyn Union Gas v. Century Indemnity, finding that there's no need to construe an ambiguous policy against an insurer when the policyholder is a sophisticated company, shows that contesting the application of the contra proferentem rule is gaining more traction in courts, say John Ewell and Joanna Roberto at Gerber Ciano.
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What Wis. Anti-Assignment Ruling Means For Policyholders
A Wisconsin state court's recent decision in Pepsi-Cola v. Employers Insurance Co. of Wausau makes pivotal the question of when a loss occurs, meaning that policyholders subject to anti-assignment clauses cannot simply rely on plain contractual language, say Brian Scarbrough and Daniel Ergas at Jenner & Block.
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Taming Plaintiffs' Thriving 'Reptile' Tactics: How To Start
As rising social inflation increases the danger of plaintiffs attorneys' reptile tactics, which appeal to primal emotions instead of logic, defendants should carefully consider 22 strategies that can be employed in pretrial strategy or via traditional courtroom tools, say Scott Seaman and Diane Webster at Hinshaw.
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Taming Plaintiffs' Thriving 'Reptile' Tactics: Why It's Time
As insurers and corporate policyholders are looking down the dangerous double barrel of price level and social inflation, it's important to examine what they can do to contain a leading driver of social inflation — plaintiffs lawyers' reptile theory, which positions jurors as guardians against dangers for society, say Scott Seaman and Diane Webster at Hinshaw.
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Recent Decisions Are Eroding All-Risk Insurance Coverage
All-risk insurance coverage is under siege by insurers' broad interpretations of established exclusions, and recent decisions in New Jersey and New Hampshire have shown that courts may not protect coverage despite the policies' text and intent, says Nicholas Insua at Reed Smith.
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The Insurance Industry's Growing Potential Role In Gun Safety
This year has seen two unprecedented events — the passage of a municipal requirement for gun owners' liability insurance, and the Sandy Hook class action settlement — that may motivate insurers to help regulate firearms, but several reasons could hold them back, says Peter Kochenburger at UConn.