Property
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January 30, 2024
Insurer Ordered To Pay Casino $55K In Attorney Fees
An insurer must pay a Las Vegas casino and resort more than $55,000 in attorney fees after a Nevada federal judge sanctioned the carrier in September, ruling that the insurer failed to produce relevant portions of its claims manual during a COVID-19 coverage dispute.
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January 30, 2024
Tenn. Judge Hands Insurer Win In Collapse Coverage Trial
A North Carolina-based insurance company isn't obligated to cover over $1 million in claimed damages and lost rental income connected to the restoration of a century-old building in Chattanooga, a Tennessee federal judge found in a trial ruling Tuesday.
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January 30, 2024
Pipeline Builder Says Insurer Owes Defense In Explosion Suit
A pipeline construction company told a Texas federal court Tuesday that a subcontractor's insurer must defend the company in a personal injury suit stemming from a nitrogen gas explosion, asserting that it qualifies as an additional insured.
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January 30, 2024
Colo. Pizzeria Says Insurer Owes More Fire Coverage
A Colorado pizzeria that was damaged by a fire in 2021 told a Colorado federal court its insurer still owes coverage for business losses and other expenses, arguing that the insurer is in part to blame for the restaurant being unable to complete its restorations required by its policy.
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January 30, 2024
Fennemore Craig Growing In Calif. With Sullivan Hill Merger
In its latest West Coast expansion, Fennemore Craig PC announced Tuesday it is widening its footprint in San Diego through a merger with Sullivan Hill, with the latter's experts in insurance, construction, commercial bankruptcy and employment law joining Fennemore's existing four-attorney team in the city.
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January 29, 2024
Insurer's Counterclaim Tossed From $7M Elevator Verdict Row
An insurer has no grounds to pursue a counterclaim against excess insurer Great American Insurance Co. in a dispute with an elevator maintenance company over a $7.3 million negligence verdict, a Florida federal judge ruled Monday.
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January 29, 2024
Increase In Trafficking Reveals Hospitality Coverage Concerns
As human trafficking continues to increase and travel returns to prepandemic levels, hospitality industry policyholders may see more direct trafficking exclusions and increased education requirements as the insurance industry works to address this growing risk, experts said.
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January 29, 2024
Pollution Exclusion Applies In Oil Well Row, Underwriters Say
Underwriters for a now-defunct oil services company told a Texas federal court they should not pay a $10.6 million underlying judgment to two companies over drainage losses to their oil wells, because the defunct company's policy excluded pollution and waste claims.
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January 29, 2024
Escrow Agent Not Covered For Fraud Suits, Court Told
An escrow agent no longer has coverage for four underlying suits accusing it of unlawfully withholding funds or distributing them to third parties who had no valid claim to the money, an insurer told a Florida federal court, saying its theft coverage extension endorsement has been exhausted.
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January 29, 2024
Fla. Law Firm Escapes Contractor's Malpractice Suit
A Florida federal judge has agreed to toss a storm damage contractor's more than $1 million lawsuit centering on an acrimonious breakup with its former law firm, but allowed the contractor a chance at refiling its legal malpractice claims.
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January 26, 2024
Nelson Mullins' Rates Spark Coverage Spat Over Builder's Suit
An insurance policy battle between an exterior building product manufacturer and its insurer over who should pay for a law firm's services in a separate lawsuit spilled into Ohio federal court this week after the insurer removed the company's case from state court to the federal arena.
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January 26, 2024
School Says Security Insurer Failed To Cover Stabbing Row
A security company's insurer failed to provide coverage to a school for behavioral problems in an underlying suit alleging a student was stabbed and bullied in the gym due to the school's negligence and tolerance of violence, according to a suit removed to D.C. federal court.
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January 26, 2024
Auto Biz Says Insurer Can't Escape $500K Damage Claims
A vehicle lift installer urged a Minnesota federal court to preserve its counterclaims in a coverage dispute over nearly $500,000 in claims stemming from fire damage and a tipped container, arguing that its insurer constructively denied most of the claim by repeating investigations and denying payments for over a year.
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January 26, 2024
Insurer Denied Early Win In Landlord's Hurricane Damage Suit
An insurer wasn't able to beat a suburban New Orleans commercial property owner's Louisiana federal case over more than $220,000 in 2021 Hurricane Ida damage, but did succeed in limiting testimony.
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January 26, 2024
Texas Motel Says Insurer Fell $750K Short On Storm Damage
AIG unit Lexington Insurance Co. underpaid for storm damage to a Texas Econo Lodge Inn & Suites, offering only a sum more than $750,000 smaller than the company's own repair estimate, the motel's owner told a federal court.
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February 08, 2024
Law360 Seeks Members For Its 2024 Editorial Boards
Law360 is looking for avid readers of its publications to serve as members of its 2024 editorial advisory boards.
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January 26, 2024
State Farm Underpaid Miss. Property Losses, Class Suit Says
A Mississippi homeowner accused State Farm Fire and Casualty in federal court of intentionally underpaying her fire damage claim by using the wrong setting in its pricing software, treating the repairs as new construction and improperly excluding higher labor costs associated with more complicated fixes.
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January 25, 2024
Excess Insurers Win In Construction Defect Coverage Suit
A residential developer wrongly tapped into certain excess insurance, a California federal judge ruled Thursday, finding that the $3.2 million its primary insurer spent on defense costs in underlying construction defect litigation didn't count toward triggering a $10 million excess policy.
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January 25, 2024
Insurer Says Contractor Not Covered In Oil Refinery Fire Suits
A petrochemical contractor is not entitled to coverage for a number of suits over an incident at an Arkansas oil refinery in which a hazardous substance was released and caught fire, an excess insurer told a Texas federal court Thursday, saying the contractor's two-year delay in providing notice bars coverage.
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January 25, 2024
La. Auto Dealer, Insurer Settle $1.2M Ida Coverage Row
A car dealer agreed to permanently end its bid for more than $1.2 million in Hurricane Ida-related coverage from its insurers, telling a Louisiana federal court that it had reached a settlement with its insurers.
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January 25, 2024
No Sanctions For Receivership Settlement Delays, Judge Says
A Michigan federal judge approved a business interruption coverage settlement concerning a Detroit property in receivership, allowing the property's owner to dodge a bid for sanctions brought by the receiver over delays in signing the agreement.
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January 25, 2024
State Farm Beats Suit Alleging Excessive COVID-Era Premiums
A California federal judge on Thursday said State Farm Fire and Casualty Co. did not collect excessive premiums during the COVID-19 pandemic, handing the insurer an early win in a proposed class action brought by a cafe owner.
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January 25, 2024
Power Co. Can't Dismiss Explosion Fraud Claim, Insurers Say
Two insurers for an infrastructure technology company urged an Ohio federal court not to toss their bid to recoup $18.7 million in damages for a manufacturing facility explosion, maintaining that state law supports their ability to bring both a breach of contract and fraud claim.
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January 25, 2024
NJ Justices Keep Up Trend Of Virus Suit Wins For Insurers
In turning back an Atlantic City casino's $50 million bid for pandemic loss coverage, New Jersey's top court kept in line with the vast majority of courts deciding such suits, while shutting the door to Garden State policyholders seeking virus coverage, experts say.
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January 24, 2024
Apartment, Insurers Settle Stalled Construction Coverage Row
A Tampa, Florida, apartment complex owner and its insurers settled their dispute in federal court over coverage for delayed construction after mediation, they said Wednesday in a joint settlement notice.
Expert Analysis
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Ruling Rightly Sends COVID Biz Interruption Question To Jury
After a string of insurer coronavirus coverage wins on dispositive motions, a Missouri federal court's ruling this week in favor of the policyholder in K.C. Hopps v. Cincinnati Insurance places the decision-making responsibility about the facts and science in COVID-19 business interruption cases back where it belongs — with a jury, say attorneys at Pillsbury.
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Policyholder Outlook Following UK Biz Interruption Test Case
In the nine months since the U.K. Supreme Court ruled in favor of policyholders in the Financial Conduct Authority’s test case on insurance coverage for COVID-19 businesses interruption claims, similar lawsuits filed against insurers show that a positive outcome for insureds is not guaranteed, say Peter Sharp and Paul Mesquitta at Morgan Lewis.
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Justice Gap Demands Look At New Legal Service Models
Current restrictions on how lawyers structure their businesses stand in the way of meaningful access to justice for many Americans, so states should follow the lead of Utah and Florida and test out innovative law firm business models through regulatory sandboxes, says Zachariah DeMeola at the Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System.
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Lessons From 3rd Circ. COVID Biz Interruption Ruling
The Third Circuit's recent DiAnoia's v. Motorists Mutual Insurance decision, directing district courts to reevaluate their remand of three pandemic-related business interruption cases to state courts, holds a lesson that determining Declaratory Judgment Act jurisdiction requires a rigorous analysis of all factors, says Regen O'Malley at Gordon Rees.
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What 5th Circ. Ruling Means For Insurers' Post-Award Liability
The Fifth Circuit's recent decision in Randel v. Travelers, holding that an insurer's timely preappraisal payment did not extinguish its liability to its insured, highlights the importance of thoroughness and accuracy in initial loss inspections, says Karl Schulz at Cozen O'Connor.
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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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New Fla. Atty Fee Law May Be Boon To Property Insurers
A new Florida law designed to curb property insurance litigation should add some balance to a historically hostile environment for insurers by shifting the onus onto policyholders to prove entitlement to attorney fees, say attorneys at Zelle.
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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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How The 'Rocket Docket' Continues To Roar Through COVID
While the Eastern District of Virginia rocket docket is no longer the nation's fastest civil trial court, it continues to keep litigation moving efficiently, with pandemic protocols resulting in new benefits for litigants, says Robert Tata at Hunton.
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It's Time To Upgrade Our Attorney Licensure Rules
The bar exam does a poor job of testing the skills employers expect from new lawyers, and those who pass the bar can practice indefinitely without independent oversight, so states should consider alternative means for assuring competence and personal stability for new as well as experienced lawyers, says David Friedman at Willamette University.
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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.