General Liability
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March 19, 2024
Ky. Woman Gets $164M Verdict In Geico Roadside Crash
A Kentucky state jury on Monday hit auto insurance giant Geico with a $164 million verdict over claims it negligently sent a tow truck out on a roadside assistance job only for it to ultimately rear-end a motorist stopped at a red light, leaving her a quadriplegic.
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March 19, 2024
Uber, Progressive Unit Settle NC Widower's Coverage Fight
The widower of an Uber Eats driver who died in a car crash on the job has settled his lawsuit seeking a payout for the accident from the ride-hailing giant and its insurer, according to a notice filed in North Carolina federal court.
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March 19, 2024
Allstate Seeks To Trim $10M Conn. Shotgun Injury Suit
Allstate Insurance Co. wants a Connecticut federal court to cut four of five claims from a lawsuit brought by a man demanding $10 million that he won from a homeowner who seriously injured him with a shotgun blast, arguing that the victim asserted causes of action that are duplicative or unavailable to him.
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March 18, 2024
Justices Tilt Toward NRA In Free Speech Row With Regulator
A cautious U.S. Supreme Court seemed poised Monday to rule in favor of the National Rifle Association in a case over allegations that a former New York state official pressured financial institutions to cut ties to the National Rifle Association in violation of its free speech rights.
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March 18, 2024
Colo. Wildfire Plaintiffs Say Xcel Trial Plan Would Sow 'Chaos'
Nearly 4,000 Colorado property owners suing Xcel Energy over a 2021 wildfire have argued that the utility's proposal to try all of their liability claims together would create a "chaotic and expensive mess" and potentially result in "serial juries" awarding different damages later on.
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March 16, 2024
Up Next At High Court: Gov't Jawboning & Retaliatory Arrests
The U.S. Supreme Court has a packed oral arguments calendar this week that includes disputes over the Biden administration's work with social media companies to combat misinformation, the appropriate evidence standard for bringing retaliatory arrest claims and whether the federal government can object to a consent decree entered into by three states.
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March 15, 2024
Fla. Jury Lets Insurer Off Hook For $12M Award
A Florida federal jury on Friday found that National Indemnity Company of the South did not act in bad faith in its handling of claims against a Florida Keys construction and landscaping company and the company's employee over a fatal car crash that led to an $11.8 million judgment.
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March 14, 2024
'Secret Meeting' Settlement OK Draws Mich. Justices' Scrutiny
A Michigan Supreme Court justice expressed discomfort Thursday with the idea that government officials could ratify a settlement in a closed-door meeting without consequences, in a case brought by three insurers against a county government's road agency trying to back out of a settlement to which it says it never agreed.
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March 14, 2024
Insurance Litigation Week In Review
A divided Colorado Supreme Court expanded application of the state's notice-prejudice rule, the Fourth Circuit tossed a COVID-19 coverage class action and the Eighth Circuit considered whether insurers' billing agreements with healthcare providers violated Minnesota's No-Fault Act. Here, Law360 takes a look at this week's top insurance news.
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March 14, 2024
8th Circ. Weighs If No-Bill Agreements Break Minn. Law
The Eighth Circuit carefully considered arguments Thursday between six Farmers units and a policyholder class as to whether the carriers' agreements with healthcare providers restricted the class's medical expense coverage in violation of Minnesota law, giving little indication of which way it leaned.
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March 14, 2024
Justices To Consider Insurer's Right To Participate In Ch. 11
The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to hear arguments Tuesday on whether Truck Insurance Exchange retains standing to oppose the proposed reorganization plan of two bankrupt manufacturers facing a bevy of underlying asbestos injury claims, after the Fourth Circuit blocked Truck's opposition since the plan was "insurance neutral."
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March 14, 2024
Insurer Climate Info Partnership Ups Federal Monitor's Role
A new data-sharing partnership between the U.S. Treasury and state insurance regulators reflects the government's growing interest in understanding and monitoring climate change risks to insurance markets, experts say, but questions remain over the extent to which the data will fully reflect the industry's risks and carbon footprint.
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March 14, 2024
4th Circ. Weighs Insurer's Duty To Defend Land-Use Dispute
The Fourth Circuit will decide whether to overturn a West Virginia federal ruling allowing an insurer to avoid covering a sustainable farm that has been accused by the oil and gas company of blocking it from drilling wells in a $4 million state land-use dispute. Here, Law360 breaks down the case in advance of the forthcoming decision.
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March 14, 2024
Justices To Weigh Free Speech, Gov't Oversight In NRA Row
The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments next week over whether a former New York state official illegally pressured financial institutions to cut ties to the National Rifle Association, setting up a showdown between free speech rights and regulatory oversight.
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March 14, 2024
An Insurance Attorney's Call To Military Service
Jeffrey Bristol of Parrish Law PA is a self-described "later-in-life lawyer" wearing many hats because he has dedicated more than a decade to serving in multiple branches of the U.S. armed forces.
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March 14, 2024
Towers Watson Ruling Energizes Bump-Up Supporters, Critics
A Virginia federal court decision freeing Towers Watson's insurers from covering shareholder suit settlements totaling $90 million has offered carriers support for their use of the so-called bump-up exclusion and prompted criticism from policyholders that the exclusion has gone too far.
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March 13, 2024
Aetna Can't Avoid Bias Suit Over Fertility Treatment Policy
Aetna must face a proposed class action alleging it readily covers fertility treatments for infertile heterosexual women but forces non-heterosexual women to spend thousands out of pocket before paying for their treatments, with a Connecticut federal judge saying it doesn't matter if the insurer didn't control the health plan's terms.
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March 12, 2024
Geico Policyholders Lose Cert. Bid In Pandemic Premium Suit
An Illinois federal judge on Tuesday denied class certification in litigation claiming that Geico profited off the COVID-19 pandemic by charging excessive car insurance premiums, ruling that the policyholders who filed the lawsuit had not shown that their damages model could be calculated on a classwide basis.
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March 12, 2024
Gunmaker, Insurer Settle Coverage Of NY 'Ghost Gun' Suits
A gunmaker accused by the New York attorney general and two cities of facilitating the creation of so-called ghost guns has reached a coverage settlement with one of its insurers, the parties told a Florida federal court Tuesday, leaving the gunmaker's coverage claims against another insurer still pending.
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March 12, 2024
NJ Diocese Asks Court To Toss Insurer's Abuse Coverage Suit
The Catholic Diocese of Trenton asked a New Jersey federal court to toss an insurer's action seeking to escape coverage for more than 200 suits alleging sexual abuse by clergy, saying the coverage dispute is "premature, vague, and ambiguous."
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March 11, 2024
Fla. Biz Owner Says Insurer Left Co. On Hook For $12M Award
The owner of a Florida Keys construction and landscaping company told federal jurors Monday that it made no sense for National Indemnity Company of the South to tender the policy limits to his employee involved in a fatal crash while leaving the company exposed and forced to go to trial, where it was hit with an $11.8 million judgment.
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March 11, 2024
Travelers Owes No Coverage For Mo. Wall Mishap, Judge Says
Travelers has no duty to provide over $1.4 million to a St. Louis area property developer for administrative expenses and loss of rental income stemming from a retaining wall failure, a Missouri federal court ruled Monday, finding such coverage didn't extend to additional insureds on a general contractor's policy.
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March 08, 2024
Exclusion Bars Coverage For Ga. Fair E. Coli Suit
Nautilus Insurance Co. has no duty to defend or indemnify a harvest fair accused in an underlying state court suit of exposing two children to E. coli, a Georgia federal court has ruled, saying an infectious disease exclusion unambiguously precludes coverage.
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March 08, 2024
11th Circ. Declines To Hear Building Defect Coverage Dispute
It's too early to determine whether a Florida federal court erred in its coverage determinations in a long-running construction defect insurance dispute, the Eleventh Circuit has ruled, finding that the "purported final judgment here does not dispose of all claims against all parties."
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March 07, 2024
Insurance Litigation Week In Review
The California Supreme Court heard COVID-19 coverage arguments, the Fifth Circuit ordered arbitration between a property owner and its domestic insurers, and a New Hampshire federal court said Liberty Mutual owes no defense for class action claims over a sleep machine cleaner.
Expert Analysis
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Enviro Review Standard Tweaks May Clarify Cleanup Liability
Forthcoming revisions to the standard for Phase I environmental site assessments will likely afford property owners and operators clearer protection from liability for hefty environmental cleanups, so interested parties in real estate and M&A deals should pay close attention, say Lorene Boudreau at Ballard Spahr and Mitchell Wiest and Sara Redding at Roux Associates.
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Ill. BIPA Ruling May Significantly Affect Insurers' Exposure
In Tims v. Black Horse Carriers, an Illinois state appeals court held that certain claims under the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act are subject to a one-year statute of limitations only, which may reduce commercial general liability insurers’ exposure to litigation under this act for several reasons, say attorneys at Kennedys.
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Insurance Commissioner's Agenda: DC On Long-Term Care
Washington, D.C., Insurance Commissioner Karima Woods outlines the development of insurance coverage for older adults' long-term care benefits and how regulators and the industry are attempting to resolve issues with the popular product.
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Insurance Commissioner's Agenda: Del. Tackles Mental Health
Delaware Insurance Commissioner Trinidad Navarro highlights the state's efforts to achieve insurance coverage parity for mental health care by confronting systemic stigma and penalizing disparate and restrictive insurance determinations.
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Key Takeaways From The NAIC Summer National Meeting
Stephanie Duchene and Kara Baysinger at Willkie highlight what insurance practitioners should know about top industry priorities from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ recent national meeting, including climate-related risk, diversity and inclusion, and technological innovation.
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The Complex State Of Insurance In The Cannabis Business
Jan Larson and Philip Sailer at Jenner & Block outline the complex cannabis regulatory schemes perplexing courts faced with insurance coverage cases and discuss legislative solutions that could at least begin to reduce the challenges for both policyholders and insurers.
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Embracing ESG: AIG Counsel Talks SEC Risk Alert
As the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission responds to the changing landscape on environmental, social and corporate governance investing, including with its recent risk alert, it is imperative that the regulator take a measured approach, says Kate Fuentes at AIG.
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Insurance Commissioner's Agenda: Wis. Tackles Climate Risk
Wisconsin Commissioner of Insurance Mark Afable talks about educating consumers on potential climate-risk coverage gaps and mitigation efforts, and encouraging insurers to recognize the latter in underwriting, in the face of increasingly frequent and severe weather disasters.
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Insurer Considerations For Post-Pandemic Virtual Mediation
To determine whether to continue engaging in virtual mediations after the pandemic ends, insurers should weigh the format's challenges against its benefits, including decreased hostility between parties, time and cost, and increased client participation, say Jennifer Gibbs and Amanda Rodriguez at Zelle.
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NY Ruling Should Make Counsel More Cautious In Emails
A recent New York Appellate Division decision, Philadelphia Insurance v. Kendall, makes it much more likely that a settlement could be effectuated by simple email exchanges without more formal written documentation memorializing all the terms of the settlement, says Christopher Gorman at Abrams Fensterman.
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5th Circ. Data Hack Ruling May Increase Privacy Litigation
The recent Fifth Circuit decision in Landry’s v. Insurance Co. of the State of Pennsylvania, holding that an insurance carrier had a duty to defend a claim arising out of a data breach, could have the unfortunate effect of triggering more personal and advertising injury litigation, say Joshua Mooney and Judy Selby at Kennedys.
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NY Asbestos Ruling Could Change Insurers' Approach
A New York court's recent ruling that Liberty Mutual had to pay 100% of all settlements against its bankrupt and dissolved insured, Jenkins Bros., even though its policies were in force for only part of the asbestos exposure should make insurers think twice before looking to shed some of their asbestos coverage obligations, says John Koch at Flaster Greenberg.
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An Insurer's Guide To Policyholder Bankruptcy
Given the increased likelihood of policyholders filing bankruptcy petitions in the wake of the pandemic, insurance professionals must be aware of five basic principles when dealing with an insured in bankruptcy, says Eric Fitzgerald at Goldberg Segalla.