Property
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January 11, 2024
NC Justices Urged To Nix Clothier's Virus Coverage Appeal
Zurich American Insurance has asked the North Carolina Supreme Court to reject a clothing company's bid to appeal its coverage suit for COVID-19 losses, arguing that the insurance policy in dispute bars coverage for any loss caused by virus contamination.
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January 11, 2024
Insurer Says Hurricane Ida Didn't Cause Property's Damage
A commercial property owner in New Orleans claiming that Hurricane Ida caused $300,000 worth of damage isn't owed coverage, an insurer told a Louisiana federal court in an attempt for an early win, arguing that the damage was preeexisting.
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January 11, 2024
Insurer Pins Golf Club's Frozen Pipe Damage On Contractors
Philadelphia Indemnity Insurance Co. took a pair of construction contractors to Pennsylvania state court over $280,000 in damages to a Pittsburgh golf club caused by a burst pipe, claiming the companies are responsible for reimbursing the insurer's coverage payment.
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January 10, 2024
NY High Court Mulls Meaning Of Loss In Virus Coverage Suit
New York's highest court considered Wednesday what kinds of circumstances might constitute physical loss or damage that triggers insurance coverage as the judges weighed whether a restaurant operator's suit for pandemic coverage was prematurely dismissed.
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January 10, 2024
Insurer Seeks Early Win In Asphalt Injury Dispute With Roofers
An insurer sought an early win against a roofing company Wednesday, telling a Pennsylvania federal court that a policy it issued to the company specifically excludes coverage for injuries resulting from the use of hot tar or asphalt.
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January 10, 2024
Policy Rider Saves Hospital's Pandemic Claim, 1st Circ. Rules
The First Circuit on Wednesday partially reinstated a Massachusetts hospital's COVID-19-related claim against insurer Continental Casualty, citing a policy rider that specifically covered the costs of complying with state decontamination requirements.
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January 10, 2024
Insurer Depreciated Flood Coverage, W.Va. Homeowner Says
An insurer unlawfully depreciated the replacement value of a West Virginia man's home after a flood, the man said in a proposed class action in federal court while warning that the company may be doing the same to other policyholders.
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January 10, 2024
Eateries Press NC Justices To Force COVID-19 Loss Coverage
A group of restaurants and bars pressed the North Carolina Supreme Court on Tuesday to force an insurer to pay for losses incurred because of COVID-19, arguing their policies don't require physical destruction but an inability to use property to trigger coverage.
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January 10, 2024
Italian Hotel Asks 7th Circ. To Revive Virus Coverage Bid
A luxury Italian hotel told a Seventh Circuit panel Wednesday that it should be able to tap into its Zurich insurance policy for certain COVID-19-related business losses because the hotel's circumstances in 2020 met the circuit's standard for complete uninhabitability.
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January 10, 2024
Contractors Haven't Paid Up After Default, Insurer Says
An insurer told a New York federal court Wednesday that an engineering firm and several related entities left it on the hook for losses suffered by the owner of a solar power facility after they defaulted on their contract.
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January 10, 2024
Chicken Plant Fights Sanctions Over Newly Divulged Notes
A North Carolina chicken plant urged the state's business court on Wednesday not to sanction it for a last-minute disclosure of pertinent evidence on the verge of an insurance fraud trial, saying it was an honest error that can be easily resolved by reopening discovery.
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January 09, 2024
Fla. Property Insurance Suits Cost $580M In 2022, Report Says
Lawsuits over property insurance claims cost insurers in Florida approximately $580 million in 2022, not including compensation for loss, according to a first-of-its-kind report recently issued by the state's Office of Insurance Regulation.
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January 09, 2024
Insurer Asks NC Justices To Help Secure $524M Judgment
An insurer urged the North Carolina Supreme Court to review a state appeals court's judgment reversing limitations on an embattled insurance mogul's transfer of assets, maintaining that the decision "substantially diminishes" its ability as a judgment creditor to collect a more than $524 million award.
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January 09, 2024
Insurance Broker Says Competitor Infringed Trademarks
An insurance broker sued another insurance broker it claimed has infringed on its trademarks and variations of the marks, telling a Texas federal court to find that it is entitled to collect its competitor's profits from the infringement.
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January 09, 2024
Conn. Dealership's Arson Coverage Suit Pared To Single Claim
A Connecticut federal judge has tossed most claims lodged against two insurers in a used car dealership's coverage suit stemming from a 2019 fire caused by arson, allowing only one breach of contract claim against an insurer to continue.
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January 09, 2024
Hyundai, Kia Eye 9th Circ. Input On Cities' Car-Theft Claims
Hyundai and Kia said Monday that the Ninth Circuit should consider whether U.S. cities can sue the automakers in California federal court over a nationwide wave of car thefts following a viral TikTok trend that popularized tips for breaking into their vehicles.
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January 09, 2024
State Farm Switched Adjusters 6 Times, Homeowners Claim
A trio of Washington state homeowners are suing State Farm over incessant delays, claiming the insurer dragged out their fallen tree damage claim for several months while shuffling through seven field adjusters.
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January 09, 2024
Hinshaw Adds 6-Atty Insurance Team In LA, San Francisco
Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP announced Tuesday that it has brought on six insurance attorneys in San Francisco and Los Angeles, including three partners and three senior counsel, from now-closed Coddington Hicks & Danforth.
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January 09, 2024
Insurer Asks 5th Circ. To Nix $2M La. Church Hurricane Award
An insurer urged the Fifth Circuit to allow oral argument on its request to reverse a more than $2 million judgment against it in a dispute with a Louisiana church over delayed coverage of 2020 hurricane damage.
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January 09, 2024
NY Justices Expected To Help Clarify COVID Coverage Issues
The outcome of arguments before New York's top court Wednesday over insurance coverage for a restaurant operator's pandemic losses should help resolve questions over covered physical loss and damage in the state, experts said.
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January 09, 2024
Insurance Boutique Co-Founder Joins McGuireWoods
A founding partner of insurance boutique Pasich LLP and former adviser at consultancy AECOM is joining McGuireWoods LLP's national insurance recovery team, the firm said Monday.
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January 08, 2024
Del. Chancery Court Denies Allstate Win In Fire Claim Dispute
The Delaware Chancery Court said a house flipping company could proceed to trial in its case requesting correction of the named insured on an Allstate policy in order to collect funds after nearly $242,000 in fire losses in 2020, denying the insurer summary judgment.
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January 08, 2024
Mass. Panel Revives Demolition Damage Coverage Bid
A Massachusetts appellate panel partially revived a commercial property owner's coverage suit Monday over claims that her building was damaged by the partial demolition of an adjacent property, finding that damage to her roof was not excluded under a vacancy provision.
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January 08, 2024
Real Estate Co. Seeks $1.9M From Insurer After Title Mishap
A real estate company told a California federal court that its insurer owes roughly $1.9 million over a title defect that limited access to its San Diego industrial property, claiming the insurer forced the company to resolve the issue at its own expense.
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January 08, 2024
11th Circ. Again Denies Empire's Anti-Appraisal Quest In Fla.
The Eleventh Circuit again refused to rehear a decision denying appeals jurisdiction in Empire Indemnity Insurance Co.'s quest to prevent appraisal of 2017 Hurricane Irma damage in another setback for the insurer's continuing campaign against appraisal in Florida.
Expert Analysis
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Don't Forget Due Diligence In Race For Lateral Associate Hires
Amid high demand for associates and aggressive competition to attract talent, law firms should take three key steps to conduct meaningful prehire due diligence and safeguard against lateral hiring mistakes that can hurt their revenue and reputation, says Michael Ellenhorn at Decipher.
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Insurance Could Be A Solution To Microchip Shortage Losses
To the extent that companies experiencing lost income from the global microchip shortage have contingent business interruption or dependent property coverage and can trace their impaired revenues to physical loss or damage to a supplier, there may be some potential for insurance recovery, says Micah Skidmore at Haynes and Boone.
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5 Steps For Law Firms Rethinking Flexible Work Post-COVID
A flexible work environment will be key to recruiting and retention efforts post-pandemic, so law firms must develop comprehensive policies that solidify expectations and boundaries on accommodations such as flextime, remote work and reduced hours, says Manar Morales at the Diversity & Flexibility Alliance.
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NY Bad Faith Bill Would Tip The Scales Against Insurers
A recently introduced New York bill proposes a statutory cause of action for insurance company bad faith when legal remedies already exist, which may dangerously upset the balance between insurers and policyholders, say attorneys at Hurwitz & Fine.
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Judge's Rebuke Of Mass. AG Has Lessons For All Attorneys
A Massachusetts federal judge’s recent rebuke of the state Attorney General’s Office for refusing to respond to discovery requests in Alliance for Automotive Innovation v. Healey highlights six important considerations for attorneys who want to avoid the dreaded benchslap, say Alison Eggers and Dallin Wilson at Seyfarth.
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Make Profitability Management Part Of Your Law Firm Culture
As the legal industry continues to change in the post-pandemic world, law firms should adapt to client demands by constantly measuring and managing the profitability of their services, says Joseph Altonji at LawVision.
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The Pandemic's Bright Spots For Lawyers Who Are Parents
The COVID-19 crisis has allowed lawyers to hone remote advocacy strategies and effectively represent clients with minimal travel — abilities that have benefited working parents and should be utilized long after the pandemic is over, says Chelsea Loughran at Wolf Greenfield.
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Why The Future Law Firm Model Is Industry-Based Offerings
Multidisciplinary, industry-based groups at law firms allow for more holistic legal advice, lead to sustainable client relationships, and are likely to replace practice group monoliths at many firms, say Jennifer Simpson Carr at Furia Rubel, Timothy Corcoran at Corcoran Consulting and Mike Mellor at Pryor Cashman.
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Outliers Offer False Hope For Virus Biz Interruption Claims
A few recent policyholder wins have caused some to overstate the potential for recovery in commercial property claims over COVID-19 prevention efforts, but in reality business interruption decisions are consistently and overwhelmingly favoring insurers, say Erin Bradham and Keith Moskowitz at Dentons.
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Thought Leadership's Critical Role In Law Firm Diversity
Minority attorneys are often underrepresented in conferences, media interviews and other law firm thought leadership campaigns, which affects their visibility with potential clients and their ability to advance at their firms, says John Hellerman at Hellerman Communications.
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3 Reasons Securities Fraud Litigation Exposure Fell In Q1
Nessim Mezrahi and Stephen Sigrist at SAR analyze data on securities class actions filed against public companies in the first quarter of 2021, and explore factors that may have contributed to issuers facing their lowest exposure to such claims in years.
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Remote Law Firm Culture Should Prioritize Associate Training
Due to the pandemic, the gap between law school and the first day on the job has never been wider, but law firms can leverage training to bridge that intimidating gap and convey the unique value of their culture in a virtual environment, say Melissa Schwind at Ward and Smith, and William Kenney and Jaron Luttich at Element Standard.
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Virtual Litigation May Unravel The Narcissistic Lawyer
The virtual courtroom limits a narcissistic lawyer's ability to intimidate witnesses and opposing counsel, boast to clients or engage in grandstanding — an unexpected benefit of the global pandemic as some aspects of remote litigation are likely here to stay, says Jennifer Gibbs at Zelle.