Property
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February 07, 2025
5th Circ. Upholds High School's Win In Gym Fire Suit
The Fifth Circuit on Thursday upheld a Louisiana high school's win in its suit claiming that a flooring company caused a gym fire, holding that the high school has a right of action for property damage to the gymnasium.
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February 07, 2025
Plaintiffs Lawyers Swarm Los Angeles Post-Fires
A deadly wildfire may be among the first covered by a new state fund that reimburses at-fault utility companies. This could mean billions of dollars for plaintiffs lawyers, and, if past fires are any indication, frustration and confusion for some victims.
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February 07, 2025
9th Circ. Says State Farm Unit Owes No More For Leaks
A State Farm unit owes no additional payment to a California medical center for lost income from water damage, a Ninth Circuit panel ruled, agreeing with a lower court that the insurer paid the amount due under the policy.
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February 06, 2025
Trump Tariffs Portend Higher Insurance Industry Costs
President Donald Trump's tariff regime is threatening sections of the insurance industry with higher costs or uncovered exposures, pushing policyholders with few applicable coverage lines at their disposal to explore more indirect forms of risk mitigation.
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February 06, 2025
Paint Co. Says Chubb Owes $1M For Plant Explosion
A Columbus, Ohio, paint manufacturer accused Chubb of wrongfully refusing to reimburse it for more than $1 million after the company's resin manufacturing plant exploded and caused a hazardous chemical spill, in a suit removed Thursday by Chubb to Ohio federal court.
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February 06, 2025
House Committee Weighs Wildfire Strain On Calif. Insurers
A U.S. House of Representatives subcommittee met Thursday to discuss the recent California wildfires and how regulatory policy may aid future prevention of natural disasters, as experts emphasized that the fires only further exposed the state's ongoing insurance crisis.
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February 06, 2025
Pillsbury Adds Insurance Partner From Morgan Lewis
Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP has announced the addition of an insurance recovery expert from Morgan Lewis as a partner in its Washington, D.C., office to advise and represent insurance policyholders.
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February 06, 2025
Insurance Litigation Week In Review
The Delaware Supreme Court agreed that a jury's fraud verdict against an ex-Xerox unit was improper and also limited a pharmaceutical company's recovery for a securities suit, while the Sixth Circuit refused to review Home Depot's data breach coverage loss. Here, Law360 takes a look at the past week's top insurance news.
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February 06, 2025
Insurance Expert Tackles Super Bowl Coverage Risks
The Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles earned their way to the Super Bowl only last week, but the NFL, host city New Orleans, the stadium and others have spent years planning and securing the necessary insurance coverage to ensure the biggest sporting event of the year is properly protected. Here, insurance industry veteran Lori Shaw spoke with Law360 about insuring one of the world's most-watched sporting events.
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February 05, 2025
Ga. Judge Balks At Zurich's Claim Of Surprise Testimony
A Georgia federal judge has rejected Zurich American Insurance's bid to strike supposed surprise testimony from a recent trial where it lost $12.2 million over a disputed rain damage claim from a solar farm, ruling Wednesday that the real surprise was Zurich's belated and meritless objections.
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February 05, 2025
Insurers Sued Over $8M In Water Damage At Wash. Condos
Farmers and Western National have allegedly breached their property insurance policies by refusing to cover nearly $8 million in hidden water damage at two Seattle-area condominium complexes, according to separate complaints filed by the condo owners associations.
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February 05, 2025
Apply Presuit Notice Law Retroactively, Insurer Tells Fla. Court
Universal Property and Casualty Insurance Co. on Wednesday urged the Florida Supreme Court to reverse a decision declining to apply a state law requiring presuit notice against a property insurance carrier to a policy purchased before the law's effective date.
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February 05, 2025
Calif. Panel Revives Malpractice Suit Against Insurer Attys
A California state appeals court revived an Allstate policyholder's legal malpractice suit against his insurer-appointed attorney, saying the policyholder sufficiently alleged the attorney's drafting of an underlying settlement in a wrongful death suit caused him damages.
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February 04, 2025
State Farm Seeks Emergency Rate Hike After Calif. Fires
State Farm asked the California Department of Insurance to approve an emergency rate hike, including a 22% average increase for homeowners across the state, citing the company's worsening financial condition following the fires in Los Angeles.
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February 04, 2025
Ecovie Brings Water Recycling Tech To Real Estate
With building developers and operators increasingly having to pay attention to water management, the property technology firm Ecovie is looking to do its part to help the situation, property by property.
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February 03, 2025
Climate Group Says Insurance Hikes Threaten Housing Market
The U.S. housing market could sustain a $1.4 trillion loss in value over the next 30 years as insurance costs surge and consumer demand shifts due to climate change, according to a report Monday from climate analytics company First Street.
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February 03, 2025
NC Justices Urged To Reject Appeal Over Rate Hike Approvals
North Carolina's insurance commissioner urged the state's highest court to reject a policyholder's appeal challenging a series of insurer rate hike approvals in court, saying an appeals panel correctly found that the policyholder failed to support his claims that intervening in the preceding approval process was impossible.
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February 03, 2025
Yacht Building Co. Faces Sanctions For Hiding Hoist Failure
A Washington federal judge has said yacht builder Delta Marine Industries owed sanctions over its failure to provide access to parts related to a boat hoist that failed during the launch of a yacht in a $3.4 million dispute between Lloyd's syndicates, underwriters and a Seattle boat builder.
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January 31, 2025
LA Fire Claims Tracker Reports More Than $4.2B In Payments
More than $4.2 billion in claims has been paid in connection with the devastating Eaton and Pacific Palisades fires in Los Angeles County that erupted in early January, according to data from a California Department of Insurance tracker.
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January 31, 2025
Supreme Court Eyes Its 'Next Frontier' In FCC Delegation Case
A case about broadband subsidies will give the U.S. Supreme Court the chance to revive a long-dormant separation of powers principle that attorneys say could upend regulations in numerous industries and trigger a power shift that would make last term's shake-up of federal agency authority pale in comparison. And a majority of the court already appears to support its resurrection.
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February 07, 2025
Law360 Seeks Members For Its 2025 Editorial Boards
Law360 is looking for avid readers of our publications to serve as members of our 2025 editorial advisory boards.
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January 30, 2025
Trump Tariffs Could Raise LA Fire Insurance Recovery Costs
Large new tariffs under the second Trump administration could increase the cost of recovery efforts in Los Angeles for a series of major fires that are already expected to come with record-setting expenses for the insurance industry, according to experts.
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January 30, 2025
Allstate Units Say No Coverage For Rental Home Fire Dispute
Two Allstate insurers told a Pennsylvania federal court Thursday that they shouldn't have to cover an underlying suit accusing a group of college students of breaching their lease agreement after the New Jersey-based property they were renting caught fire due to improper disposal of smoking materials.
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January 30, 2025
3-Year Rule Repeal In La. Shifts Risk To Policyholders
A new year brings legislative changes and Louisiana was no exception after Gov. Jeff Landry approved a bill repealing the state's "three-year rule," a move intended to increase insurance competition in the Pelican State that left experts split over whether carriers will be awarded flexibility at homeowners' expense.
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January 30, 2025
Crypto Cos. Seek $6.3M From Travelers Over Building Fire
A pair of cryptocurrency mining companies accused two Travelers units of exacerbating their fire loss, telling a Michigan federal court that they negligently allowed individuals to steal their mining machines and hired a debris removal contractor that caused the property to collapse, seeking more than $6.3 million in damages.
![A firefighter walks amid the charred remains of a trailer park destroyed by fire. Thick smoke hangs in the air around him](https://assets.law360news.com/2294000/2294185/aae934dbbdd025a5b31c5d2f831fd19b3b9f9b8f-california_wildfires_lobbyist_ousted_06377.jpg)
Policyholder Attys See Calif. Smoke Case As Boon For LA
Smoke-damaged businesses in Los Angeles could benefit from a California federal court decision in January that likened smoke to asbestos, while differentiating smoke from viruses for insurance coverage purposes, according to policyholder attorneys.
![](https://assets.law360news.com/2291000/2291188/76201a872a7112f3075a608b18e465841b1a1bb9-california_mudslides_08636.jpg)
LA Fires Raise Flood And Mud Risk, But Coverage Possible
Los Angeles' first significant post-fire rainfall last weekend heightened the prospect that the city could suffer more damage from flooding and mudslides in burn areas, but policyholder attorneys say coverage for those normally excluded perils is possible.
![Aerial view of subdivision flooded with muddy water](https://assets.law360news.com/2288000/2288049/9bae433d214e4e9ab2f3297caac857f8e11ea736-increasing_hurricane_devastation_20246.jpg)
Fed. Climate Insurance Report Confirms Crises, Need For Info
A new U.S. Treasury report analyzing climate risks and rising insurance costs is one of the most comprehensive studies of the U.S. homeowners market to date, but leaves out key data that could help inform a fuller understanding of the forces shaping the market.
Expert Analysis
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A View Of The Shifting Insurance Regulatory Landscape
Attorneys at Eversheds Sutherland explore how the Federal Insurance Office's climate report, the new presidential administration and the California wildfires might affect the insurance regulatory landscape.
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Courts Should Nix Conferencing Rule In 1 Discovery Scenario
Parties are generally required to meet and confer to resolve a discovery dispute before bringing a related motion, but courts should dispense with this conferencing requirement when a party fails to specify a time by which it will complete its production, says Tristan Ellis at Shanies Law.
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Illuminating The Trend Of Florida's Unpaid Hurricane Claims
The sheer number of insurance claims closed without payment for damage caused by Hurricanes Milton and Helene reveals a systemic problem within Florida's insurance industry exacerbated by complex issues, including climate change and state regulators' resource limitations, say attorneys at Farah & Farah.
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Top Considerations For Insurance Companies In 2025
As insurance industry participants look to plan for the year, regulatory changes, climate-related challenges, the ongoing effects of social inflation and the potential for significant mergers and acquisitions will be among the key items for insurer boards and management to have on their radar, say attorneys at Debevoise.
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What Public View Of CEO's Killing Means For Corporate Trials
Given the proliferation of anti-corporate sentiments following recent charges against Luigi Mangione in connection with the killing of UnitedHealthcare's CEO, attorneys who represent corporate clients and executives will need to adapt their trial strategy to account for juror anger, says Clint Townson at Townson Litigation Consulting.
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The 7th Circ.'s Top 10 Civil Opinions Of 2024
Attorneys at Jenner & Block examine the most significant decisions issued by the Seventh Circuit in 2024, and explain how they may affect issues related to mass arbitration, consumer fraud, class certification and more.
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Insurance Considerations For LA Wildfire Recovery
Businesses and homeowners affected by the destructive Southern California wildfires must act swiftly and strategically to navigate the complexities of the insurance recovery process, including by identifying all applicable policies, documenting damage thoroughly and keeping abreast of relevant state law, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.
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Artfully Conceding Liability Can Offer Defendants 3 Benefits
In the rare case that a company makes the strategic decision to admit liability, it’s important to do so clearly and consistently in order to benefit from the various forms of armor that come from an honest acknowledgment, says Ken Broda-Bahm at Persuasion Strategies.
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LA Wildfires' Effect On Calif. Insurer Of Last Resort
Attorneys at Willkie discuss the background of California's insurer of last resort — known as the Fair Access to Insurance Requirements Plan — and examine the process of assessing member insurers and relevant recent property insurance market developments in light of the destruction from the ongoing Los Angeles wildfires.
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5 Litigation Funding Trends To Note In 2025
Lawyers and their clients must be prepared to navigate an evolving litigation funding market in 2025, made more complicated by a new administration and the increasing overall cost of litigation, says Jeffery Lula at GLS Capital.
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4 Property Insurance Action Steps For LA Policyholders
Property insurance will play a vital role in rebuilding the areas affected by the Los Angeles wildfires, and policyholders should be aware of key aspects of that coverage in order to maximize their insurance recovery, say attorneys at Cohen Ziffer.
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Rethinking Litigation Risk And What It Really Means To Win
Attorneys have a tendency to overestimate litigation risk before summary judgment and underestimate risk after it, but an eight-stage litigation framework can clarify risk at different points and help litigators reassess what true success looks like in any particular case, says Joshua Libling at Arcadia Finance.
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6 Predictions For Cyber Risk And Insurance In 2025
This year is likely to bring with it some thorny and expensive cyber challenges, including increased ransomware activity, more data breach class actions and continued efforts to define business interruption loss calculations, say attorneys at Wiley.