Property

Expert Analysis

• The Hazards Of Female Lawyers Being 'Office Moms'

  

  Female attorneys are frequently credited with being the "office moms" who do critical but undervalued work — from bringing birthday cakes to serving on diversity committees — but as lawyers return to offices, now is a good time for employers to rectify the gender imbalance that disadvantages women, say Ninth Circuit Judge Margaret McKeown and Fine Kaplan partner Roberta Liebenberg.

• Ransomware Case Signifies Shift In Cyber Insurers' Stance

  

  The pleadings in a recently settled California federal court case, Boardriders v. Great American Insurance, show that cyber insurers are taking an adversarial approach to ransomware-related claims in the wake of increasing attacks, so policyholders should anticipate new policy language, claim-payment avoidance and more, say Lynda Bennett and Michael Scales at Lowenstein Sandler.

• Pa. Ruling Leaves Auto Policy Stacking Questions

  

  Following the Pennsylvania Supreme Court's recent decision in Donovan v. State Farm, implicitly confirming the validity of a household vehicle auto policy exclusion with a proper inter-policy stacking waiver, it is unclear what the court expects insurers to do about stacking waivers, say Christopher Woodward and Allison Krupp at Marshall Dennehey.

• Cyber Rulings Aren't Helping COVID Biz Interruption Cases

  

  Where policyholders have recently tried to draw comparison between the loss of property use from a COVID-19 shutdown order and the loss of data use from a ransomware attack, they have found courts unsympathetic to these arguments for business interruption insurance coverage, say Jane Warring and Kristian Smith at Zelle.

• Insurance Commissioner's Agenda: NY On Industry Diversity

  

  My Chi To, executive deputy superintendent of the New York State Department of Financial Services Insurance Division, discusses steps her agency is taking to promote diversity, equity and inclusion within the insurance industry and suggests practices for companies to consider adopting.

• How Dealmakers Can Bridge M&A Differences In US, Europe

  

  As business continues to heat up globally, differing practices and norms in mergers and acquisitions can lead to misunderstandings between U.S. and European dealmakers, but a comparison of documentation structures and processes can help avert these complications, say Piotr Korzynski and Piotr Jaskiewicz at Baker McKenzie.

• Insurance Considerations Amid Increased Use Of Drones

  

  The growing use and rapidly evolving regulation of drone technology across industries raise tricky insurance coverage questions and increase exposure to third-party liability and first-party loss, say attorneys at Covington & Burling.

• 9th Circ. COVID Coverage Ruling Misapplies Burden Of Proof

  

  The Ninth Circuit’s recent decision in Mudpie v. Travelers Casualty Insurance, dismissing a COVID-19 insurance coverage claim, incorrectly applied the burden of proof to the policyholder instead of the insurer, disregarding the crucial differences between third-party liability and first-party all-risks insurance policies, says Lee Epstein at Flaster Greenberg.

• No Signs Of Turning, Tide Of Insurer COVID Wins Persists

  

  The trend of COVID-19 business interruption decisions favoring insurers continues to hold strong — any commentary to the contrary is striking a narrative that is not borne out by reality, say attorneys at Dentons.

• How Law Firms Can Rethink Offices In A Post-Pandemic World

  

  Based on their own firm's experiences, Kami Quinn and Adam Farra at Gilbert discuss strategies and unique legal industry considerations for law firms planning hybrid models of remote and in-office work in a post-COVID marketplace.

• 5th Circ. Ruling Aids Policyholder Deductible Calculations

  

  In its recent McDonnel Group v. Starr Surplus Lines Insurance decision, the Fifth Circuit held that the policy's flood deductible language was ambiguous, providing a win for policyholders and a helpful mathematical interpretation for insureds with similar deductible language in their property insurance policies, says Tae Andrews at Miller Friel.

• COVID-19 Offers Cautionary Tales On Hospitality Contracts

  

  Hotel owners should look closely at the agreements that govern hotel investment and operation to learn lessons from the pandemic and to protect against such vulnerability in the future with force majeure clauses and other provisions, say Anthony Cavanaugh and Jiah Park at Miles & Stockbridge.

• What Mainstreaming Of Litigation Finance Means For Industry

  

  The rush of new capital and investors into the litigation funding space is expected to bring heightened competition on price and other key deal terms, but litigants will need to be more in tune with individual financiers' proclivities, says William Weisman at Therium Capital Management.