Property

  • August 05, 2025

    Homeowners Policy Doesn't Cover Shooting, 6th Circ. Says

    State Farm has no duty to defend or indemnify a man facing wrongful death claims after he unintentionally shot and killed a woman in a domestic dispute, the Sixth Circuit affirmed Tuesday, finding that his intentional gunshots still created a foreseeable risk of harm and thus weren't an insurable accident.

  • August 05, 2025

    Insurer Must Turn Over Adjuster Docs In Hotel's Fire Loss Suit

    A hotel owner's insurer must turn over certain documents relating to the disciplinary history, compensation and qualifications of certain claims adjusters, an Idaho federal court ruled after the owner accused the insurer of intentionally delaying the resolution of its fire loss claim.

  • August 05, 2025

    Property Co. Sues Zurich Over Music Video Shooting Defense

    Zurich failed to adequately defend claims over a shooting that occurred during the filming of a music video for rapper Lil Baby, an Atlanta property owner told a Georgia federal court, saying it's entitled to retain independent counsel at the insurer's expense due to an ongoing conflict of interest.

  • August 05, 2025

    States Win Ruling To Shield FEMA Disaster Prevention Funds

    A Massachusetts federal judge on Tuesday temporarily barred the Trump administration from redirecting more than $4 billion in funds allocated by Congress for natural disaster mitigation efforts toward other Federal Emergency Management Agency programs.

  • August 04, 2025

    Title Insurer Faces Partial Loss In $26M Loan Dispute

    A lender's title insurer breached its duty to defend mechanic's lien lawsuits from subcontractors after a senior living community owner defaulted on its nearly $26 million construction loan, a Colorado federal court ruled, adding that the insurer had to indemnify certain amounts of the general contractor's lien claim, too.

  • August 01, 2025

    Most Of Property Co.'s Hailstorm Insurance Fight Tossed

    A property investment company can raise nearly none of its claims against its insurer for hailstorm damage from 2019 and 2023, a North Carolina federal court ruled, finding that because claims concerning the 2019 storm are time-barred, those corresponding documents can't support much of the 2023 claims.

  • July 31, 2025

    CGL Cases To Watch In The Second Half Of 2025

    Federal and state courts continue to weigh litigation involving public nuisance, long-tail environmental and sexual abuse claims. Here, Law360 breaks down some of the blockbuster commercial general liability insurance cases to follow in the second half of the year.

  • July 31, 2025

    10th Circ. Says Water Exclusion Bars Co.'s $1.75M Loss

    A Kansas office building's property insurer has no duty to provide coverage for roughly $1.75 million in repairs over a broken water pipe, the Tenth Circuit ruled, rejecting the building owner's argument that an exception in one exclusion conflicted with a separate exclusion for water damage.

  • July 31, 2025

    Insurer Avoids Businesses' COVID-19 Coverage Claims

    A property insurer for numerous restaurants, bars and other small businesses owes no coverage for their consolidated business interruption claims related to the COVID-19 pandemic, an Illinois federal court ruled, looking to the laws of Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota and Tennessee.

  • July 31, 2025

    Judge Questions Gov't Objection To Shielding FEMA Funds

    A Massachusetts federal judge Thursday questioned the Trump administration's assertion that it has not redirected funds allocated by Congress for natural disaster mitigation efforts toward other Federal Emergency Management Agency programs, even as the government was objecting to states' narrow request to protect the funds for now.

  • July 31, 2025

    Insurance Litigation Week In Review

    State Farm must pay over $54.6 million in vehicle valuation class actions, an AIG unit doesn't owe coverage for an herbicide damage dispute, Allianz must provide coverage for a hot air balloon company's passenger crash suits, and an RV park can proceed with a suit against its insurance broker. Here, Law360 takes a look at the past week's top insurance news.

  • July 30, 2025

    State Farm Ordered To Pay $54.6M Over Vehicle Valuations

    State Farm must pay more than $54.6 million across two class actions for underpaying the value of totaled vehicles via a "typical negotiation" deduction, a Washington federal court ruled, noting the plaintiffs provided "undisputed" evidence that State Farm violated the state's Consumer Protection Act.

  • July 30, 2025

    Davis Polk, King & Spalding Build $2.35B AccuLynx Sale

    Data analytics and technology company Verisk, advised by Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP, on Wednesday announced plans to acquire software-as-a-service company AccuLynx, led by King & Spalding LLP, in a $2.35 billion cash deal.

  • July 30, 2025

    Wash. Condo Group Seeks $10M In Water Damage Coverage

    A condominium association said its Country Financial insurers must provide coverage for an estimated $10.4 million in hidden water damage, telling a Washington federal court the insurers have failed to make a coverage determination in the two years since the association submitted its damage claim. 

  • July 29, 2025

    Insurer Says Misrepresentations Void Real Estate Co.'s Policy

    Material misrepresentations in a commercial real estate firm's insurance renewal application mean the insurer has no duty to defend the firm or a former director against a $6.5 million claim related to the sale of a client's properties, the insurer told an Indiana federal court.

  • July 28, 2025

    Electrolux Range's Defect Led To Fire, Insurer Tells Court

    Three Electrolux companies manufactured ranges with a foreseeable defect that allowed the products to unintentionally activate, a property insurer told a Connecticut federal court as it sought to recover the claim payout for a homeowner's kitchen fire.

  • July 28, 2025

    Insurer Must Cover Runoff Settlement, Auto Co. Says

    An automobile auction company told a Texas federal court that a Liberty Mutual unit must indemnify a settlement reached over underlying claims that the company caused storm water runoff in neighboring properties when it cleared several parcels of land for car and machinery storage.

  • July 25, 2025

    Nationwide Urges Mich. Justices To Let Unitary Tax Win Stand

    Entities of Nationwide urged the Michigan Supreme Court to reject the state tax agency's arguments that the insurance company's affiliates are required to file taxes as separate entities instead of as a unitary group that can share credits among its members.

  • July 24, 2025

    Lincoln National Beats Investor Suit Over $2.6B Loss, For Now

    A Pennsylvania federal judge on Thursday tossed with leave to amend a proposed securities class action alleging that Lincoln National Corp. misled investors about its financial health before reporting a $2.6 billion net loss in 2022, finding that the investors didn't specify when Lincoln National had access to certain data and studies.

  • July 24, 2025

    Silica Injury Claims Reemerge As Pollutant Trend To Watch

    In what is considered by some as “the next asbestos,” lawsuits alleging injury due to silica exposure are ramping up and the way in which they unfold may bring coverage questions under commercial general liability policies center stage, policyholder attorney Jeff Kiburtz of Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP told Law360. Here, he shares his optimism for policyholders' success in litigating these claims and why he believes this topic is one to watch in the CGL industry.

  • July 24, 2025

    Insurer Asks 4th Circ. To Nix $1.1M Roof Damage Verdict

    An insurer specializing in covering religious organizations asked the Fourth Circuit to set aside a $1.1 million jury verdict it faces over roof damage that a North Carolina church said was caused by snow, arguing the lower court's jury instructions adopted the wrong causation standard.

  • July 24, 2025

    Insurance Litigation Week In Review

    The Second Circuit ruled that a former New York state official is immune from the National Rifle Association's First Amendment suit, the Eighth Circuit said a Minnesota bar isn't entitled to nearly $2 million for an arson, and the Eleventh Circuit affirmed a Georgia church's $1.75 million coverage win. Here, Law360 takes a look at the past week's top insurance news.

  • July 23, 2025

    8th Circ. Denies Bar Owner Coverage For Ex-Husband's Arson

    An insurer for a Minnesota bar has no duty to cover a nearly $2 million fire intentionally caused by one of the owners, the Eighth Circuit ruled, rejecting the other co-owner's argument that the "innocent co-insured doctrine" extended to the bar's corresponding corporate entities.

  • July 22, 2025

    9th Circ. Rejects Gun Club's Bid For Permitting Cost Coverage

    An insurer for a Washington shooting club had no duty to cover roughly $400,000 in costs to secure proper site development permits after county officials won a public nuisance lawsuit against the club, the Ninth Circuit ruled, finding the club can't be covered for its deliberate actions.

  • July 21, 2025

    Insurer Can't Get New Trial After $1.75M Loss, 11th Circ. Says

    The Eleventh Circuit on Monday upheld a $1.75 million verdict a Georgia church won against its insurance company in a storm damage coverage dispute, ruling that the insurer largely abandoned its defenses against the judgment before the case ever landed in front of the appellate panel.

Expert Analysis

  • 11 Essential Questions When Reviewing Hurricane Insurance

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    As we approach peak hurricane season, business owners must understand critical coverage elements, policy limitations and claim procedures of their commercial property hurricane insurance policies to protect their operations effectively, says Carlton Wilde at Bracewell LLP.

  • Utilizing Rep And Warranties Insurance In CRE Transactions

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    With insurance and commercial real estate legal trends suggesting that representations and warranties insurance is likely to grow substantially in the next several years, CRE buyers and sellers should learn how such insurance can help resolve conflicting positions during transaction negotiations, say attorneys at Troutman.

  • How Courts Are Addressing The Use Of AI In Discovery

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    In recent months, several courts have issued opinions on handling discovery issues involving artificial intelligence, which collectively offer useful insights on integrating AI into discovery and protecting work product in connection with AI prompts and outputs, says Philip Favro at Favro Law.

  • How Property Insurers Serve As Climate Change Harbingers

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    Thomas Dawson at McDermott discusses the role that U.S. property insurers may play in identifying and assessing climate risk, as well as in financing climate change adaptation projects, in light of global warming and shifting geopolitical realities.

  • How NY Appeals Ruling Alters Employers' Sex Abuse Liability

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    In Nellenback v. Madison County, the New York Court of Appeals arguably reset the evidentiary threshold in sexual abuse cases involving employer liability, countering lower court decisions that allowed evidence of the length of the undiscovered abuse to substitute as notice of an employee's dangerous propensity, say attorneys at Hurwitz Fine.

  • What Calif. Insurance Ruling Means For Smoke Damage Limits

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    As California continues to grapple with an increasing number of wildfire claims, a state court's recent Aliff v. California FAIR Plan decision serves as a clear directive to insurers that policy language that narrows the scope of fire coverage below the California Insurance Code's minimum standards is impermissible, say attorneys at Wood Smith.

  • Juries Are Key In Protecting The Rule Of Law

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    Absent from the recent discourse about U.S. rule of law is the crucial role of impartial jurors in protecting the equitable administration of justice, and attorneys and judges should take affirmative steps to reverse the yearslong decline of jury trials at this critical moment, says consultant Clint Townson.

  • How To Strengthen A Case By Mastering Expert Witness Prep

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    A well-prepared expert witness can bolster a case's credibility with persuasive qualifications, compelling voir dire responses and concise testimony that can withstand cross-examination, says Allison Rocker at Baker McKenzie.

  • Tesla's Robotaxi Push Exposes Gaps In Product Liability Law

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    As Tesla's deployment of robotaxis on public roads in Austin, Texas, faces regulatory scrutiny and legislative pushback, the legal community confronts an unprecedented challenge: how to apply traditional fault principles, product liability laws and insurance practices to vehicles that operate as rolling computers, says Don Fountain at Clark Fountain.

  • 8 Insurer Takeaways From Sweeping Georgia Tort Reform

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    Insurers should take note of several critical components of Georgia's tort litigation overhaul — including limitations on damages anchoring, procedural rules governing dismissals, and liability standards in negligent security cases — and adapt claims-handling strategies to reduce litigation risk, says Lucy Aquino at Cozen O'Connor.

  • 3 Juror Psychology Principles For Expert Witness Testimony

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    Expert witnesses can sometimes fall into traps when trying to teach juries complex topics by failing to consider the psychology of juror comprehension, but attorneys can help witnesses avoid these pitfalls with a deeper understanding of cognitive lag, chunking and learning styles, says Steve Wood at Courtroom Sciences.

  • State Farm Rate Hike Portends Intensifying Insurance Crisis

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    The California Department of Insurance's unprecedented emergency approval of a 17% rate increase for State Farm General Insurance, the first interim rate relief granted before completing full actuarial justification, represents a regulatory watershed and establishes precedent that could fundamentally reshape insurers' response to climate-driven market instability, says Daniel Veroff at Merlin Law Group.

  • 3 Corporate Deposition Prep Tips To Counter 'Reptile' Tactics

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    With plaintiffs counsel’s rising use of reptile strategies that seek to activate jurors' survival instincts, corporate deponents face an increased risk of being lulled into providing testimony that undercuts a key defense or sets up the plaintiff's case strategy at trial, making it important to consider factors like cross-examination and timing, say attorneys at Dentons.