Property
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August 01, 2024
Judgment Insurance Market Continues To Solidify, Attys Say
Insurance covering losses from a specific judgment or one that is reversed on appeal has become increasingly popular, attorneys tell Law360, raising questions on the extent courts will mandate disclosure of such policies and whether a critical mass of big-name carriers will wade into the market too.
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August 01, 2024
Insurance Litigation Week In Review
The D.C. Circuit revived an insurer’s bid to enforce arbitration awards against Argentina, a California federal court freed two AIG insurers from defending McKesson’s opioid suits and an ex-Allied World Insurance executive pled guilty in a $1.5 million fraud case. Here, Law360 takes a look at the past week's top insurance news.
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August 01, 2024
Aon Cyber Head Says Recent Attacks Spur Insurer Scrutiny
A spate of recent cyberattacks that have cost companies millions have raised existential questions about how cyberinsurance policies will continue to offset the growing risks. Law360 spoke with Brent Rieth, head of cyber solutions for North America at insurance broker Aon, about the role that brokers play in navigating market volatility.
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August 01, 2024
Insurer Wants Quick Win In NBA Team's Virus Coverage Suit
The Sacramento Kings' insurer said it is entitled to an early win in a coverage dispute over pandemic-related losses that the basketball team and its arena operator incurred, telling a California federal court that the losses don't meet the policy requirement of "physical loss or damage" to property.
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August 01, 2024
Locke Lord Adds Insurance, Privacy Partners In Chicago
Locke Lord LLP announced on Wednesday that two partners formerly of Sidley Austin LLP and Thompson Coburn LLP have joined the firm's insurance and cybersecurity practices out of Chicago.
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August 01, 2024
Growth In Captives Gives Insureds More Control, Experts Say
As commercial policyholders continue to seek solutions addressing cost, coverage and control within the traditional insurance market, a steady uptick in captive insurance may be a viable option offering policyholders more control in their risk management programs, experts say.
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July 31, 2024
Rising Star: Cohen Ziffer's Orrie Levy
Orrie A. Levy of Cohen Ziffer Frenchman & McKenna beat insurers' attempts to avoid defending Walmart in opioid lawsuits and secured a rare ruling setting aside a Delaware jury's verdict favoring an AIG unit in an insurance coverage trial, earning him a spot among insurance law attorneys under age 40 honored by Law360 as Rising Stars.
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July 30, 2024
Fla. Insurance Co. Accused Of Causing Black Mold Death
A Florida insurance company was accused of wrongfully causing the death of a woman who died from black mold contamination in a state complaint brought by her sole descendant, who alleges the insurer didn't send a promised team to remediate the woman's home after it was damaged by Hurricane Ian.
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July 29, 2024
Judge Ends Coverage Quest, Calls $2.7M Loss 'Foreseeable'
An Arizona federal judge granted a quick win to an insurer over $2.7 million in water damage losses claimed by an Arizona landlord, finding the losses were "foreseeable" and therefore not covered by the all-risk policy.
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July 26, 2024
Ex-Magistrate Judge Picked To Oversee Texas Insurance Fight
A New York federal judge has appointed a former magistrate judge to oversee a dispute between a Texas school district and several insurers who allegedly stiffed the district $17 million in damages following Hurricane Hanna.
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July 26, 2024
Chubb Unit Asks 11th Circ. To Undo $13.8M Appraisal Award
A Chubb unit asked the Eleventh Circuit on Friday to reverse the approval of a Florida condominium association's $13.8 million appraisal award for hurricane damage sustained in 2017, arguing that a lower court erred in finding that one of the appraisers was partial to the association.
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July 26, 2024
Fla. Law Firm Settles Ex-Paralegal's Sex Harassment Suit
Florida-based insurance law firm Property Litigation Group PLLC has reached a settlement with a former paralegal who alleged she was fired after reporting unwanted sexual advances and case mismanagement by a senior attorney.
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July 26, 2024
Insurers See Losses Amid Migration To Severe Weather States
Population migration into parts of the U.S. with more severe weather is one factor driving the worst U.S. homeowner's insurance underwriting results since at least 2000, according to a report on the insurance industry from AM Best.
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July 25, 2024
SC Justices Reject Insurer's Bid To Avoid Asbestos Coverage
An insurer for a now-defunct thermal insulation installer can't invoke an exclusion for bodily injury stemming from completed operations to avoid settlement coverage of an underlying "take-home" asbestos injury claim, the South Carolina Supreme Court ruled, further clarifying when an insurer can use an insured's untimely notice to bar coverage.
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July 25, 2024
CrowdStrike Outage May Leave Policyholders Few Options
Policyholders whose operations were disrupted by global outages caused by an issue with cybersecurity company CrowdStrike Holdings Inc.'s software may have few options to recover despite the chaos for air travel, government operations and financial institutions.
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July 25, 2024
Retailer Urges NC Justices To Revive COVID Coverage Row
A clothing company told North Carolina's highest court that the state's appeals court erred in dismissing its lawsuit attempting to recover COVID-19-related losses from its insurer, arguing that the lower court disregarded the omission of a virus exclusion from the policy, which "concede[d] that a virus can cause 'damage.'"
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July 25, 2024
Insurance Litigation Week In Review
Massachusetts’ top court sided with a hospital owner in a storm damage coverage dispute, the California Supreme Court revived a suit over State Farm’s claims-handling practices and the Ninth Circuit affirmed an insurer’s COVID-19 coverage win. Here, Law360 takes a look at this week's top insurance news.
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July 25, 2024
Climate Risks Heighten Inequities In Insurance Crisis
Climate risks are contributing to higher homeowners insurance prices and a crisis of uninsured households, particularly among low-income homeowners and people of color, experts say, with some saying "transformative" change is needed to solve the problem.
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July 25, 2024
Zurich Can't Revive Deductible In Georgia Coverage Suit
A Georgia federal judge rejected Zurich American Insurance Co.'s bid to reverse a ruling holding it could and did waive a $2.5 million flood deductible in its coverage row with First Solar Electric LLC over storm damage to a solar farm, holding that the insurer was just "regurgitating" arguments.
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July 24, 2024
How Hinckley Allen Took On Rhode Island Beach-Access Law
A Rhode Island judge this month sided with beachfront property owners, represented by Hinckley Allen & Snyder LLP, ruling that a 2023 law that shifts the public access line landward amounts to a taking.
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July 24, 2024
Conn. Cannabis Co.'s Income Loss Not Covered, Insurer Says
An insurer said it has no obligation to cover a cannabis company's business income loss stemming from a February 2020 fire, telling a Connecticut federal court that the loss was not caused by a suspension of operations but rather damage to marijuana plants that aren't covered.
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July 24, 2024
6th Circ. Floats Remand Of Geico Agent Misclassification Suit
The Sixth Circuit on Wednesday pressed Geico about plan documents reviewed by a lower court when it tossed agents' claims they were misclassified as independent contractors, floating the possibility of sending the case back for limited discovery.
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July 24, 2024
Nationwide Urges Mich. Court To Stand By Unitary Biz Ruling
The Michigan Court of Appeals properly ruled that insurance companies that are part of Nationwide should file their taxes as a unitary group, the company told the appeals court, saying the state Treasury Department's request for reconsideration should be denied.
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July 23, 2024
6th Circ. Affirms Insurer's Early Win In Hail Damage Suit
A welding company wasn't owed coverage for roof damage caused by wind and a hailstorm, the Sixth Circuit ruled, finding that a lower court didn't err in ruling that a cosmetic-damage exclusion in its policy precludes the damage at issue.
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July 23, 2024
Insurers Must Defend Well Driller In Lead Contamination Suit
Insurers must defend a drilling company accused of contaminating a rental property's water supply with dangerous levels of lead, a Montana federal court ruled, saying they haven't shown the underlying claims fall outside the policies' insuring agreements or are otherwise excluded from coverage.
4 Top Property Insurance Suits To Keep Watching In 2024
A dispute in Hawaii's top court over defense for climate change claims and a Fifth Circuit suit over insurance for an arbitration award for construction defects are among some of the top cases in the property insurance sphere worth keeping an eye on. Here, Law360 looks at four cases with notable decisions or litigation to come.
Policyholder Attys Cheer Justices' Ruling On 'Surface Waters'
Like a bridge over troubled water, Massachusetts' highest court laid down a rejection of the term "surface waters," finding insurers couldn't rely on the phrase to limit coverage to a storm-damaged hospital in an opinion celebrated by policyholder attorneys as providing far-reaching clarity on a contested issue.
FEMA Flood Standard A Step In Right Direction, Experts Say
The Biden Administration's decision last week to continue implementing a stronger flood protection standard is being welcomed by experts as a way to improve resiliency, even though the rule likely won't have a significant direct effect on flood insurance.
Expert Analysis
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What's In NYDFS Guidance On Use Of AI In Insurance
Matthew Gaul and Shlomo Potesky at Willkie summarize the New York Department of Financial Services' recently adopted circular letter on the use of artificial intelligence in insurance underwriting and pricing, and highlight the material changes made to it in response to comments on the draft circular letter.
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Lead Like 'Ted Lasso' By Embracing Cognitive Diversity
The Apple TV+ series “Ted Lasso” aptly illustrates how embracing cognitive diversity can be a winning strategy for teams, providing a useful lesson for law firms, which can benefit significantly from fresh, diverse perspectives and collaborative problem-solving, says Paul Manuele at PR Manuele Consulting.
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7th Circ Joins Trend Of No CGL Coverage For Structural Flaws
The Seventh Circuit, which recently held potential structural instability did not count as property damage under a construction company's commercial general liability policy, joins a growing consensus that faulty work does not implicate coverage without tangible and present damage to the project, say Sarah Abrams at Baleen Specialty, and Elan Kandel and James Talbert at Bailey Cavalieri.
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New La. Managing Agent Law May Portend Growing Scrutiny
Recent amendments to Louisiana’s managing general agent regulations impose expansive new obligations on such agents and their insurer partners, which may be a sign of heightened regulatory, commercial and rating agency scrutiny, say attorneys at McDermott.
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What Fla. Ruling Means For Insurer Managed Repair Programs
A recent Florida state court ruling in Fraga v. Citizens Property Insurance, holding that the insurer could not seek to add additional terms in its managed repair program consent form, should promote clear written contract terms that clarify the relationship between insurers, policyholders and contractors, says Chip Merlin at Merlin Law Group.
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NY Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q2
The second quarter of 2024 saw less enforcement activity in the realm of New York financial services, but brought substantial regulatory and legislative developments, including state regulators' guidance on cybersecurity compliance and customer service processes for virtual currency entities, say James Vivenzio and Andrew Lucas at Perkins Coie.
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Takeaways From Justices' Redemption Insurance Decision
The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in Connelly v. U.S. examines how to determine the fair market value of shares in a closely held company for estate tax purposes, and clarifies how life insurance held by the company to enable redemption of a decedent’s shares affects that calculation, says Evelyn Haralampu at Burns & Levinson.
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Managing Legal Risks After University Gaza Protests
Following the protests sparked by the war in Gaza, colleges and universities should expect a long investigative tail and take steps to mitigate risks associated with compliance issues under various legal frameworks and institutional policies, say Wiley's Diana Shaw and Colin Cloherty.
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An Insurance Coverage Checklist For PFAS Defendants
With PFAS liability exposures attracting increased media attention, now is a good time for companies that could be exposed to liability related to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances to review existing and past insurance policies, and consider taking proactive steps to maximize their likelihood of coverage, say attorneys at Nossaman.
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Circuit Judge Writes An Opinion, AI Helps: What Now?
Last week's Eleventh Circuit opinion in Snell v. United Specialty Insurance, notable for a concurrence outlining the use of artificial intelligence to evaluate a term's common meaning, is hopefully the first step toward developing a coherent basis for the judiciary's generative AI use, says David Zaslowsky at Baker McKenzie.
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Trauma-Informed Legal Approaches For Pro Bono Attorneys
As National Trauma Awareness Month ends, pro bono attorneys should nevertheless continue to acknowledge the mental and physical effects of trauma, allowing them to better represent clients, and protect themselves from compassion fatigue and burnout, say Katherine Cronin at Stinson and Katharine Manning at Blackbird.
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Tips For Advising CRE Owners Affected By Houston Storms
As Houston residents begin the arduous process of recovery after this month's devastating storms, attorneys should guide commercial real estate owners and managers toward immediate action under their insurance coverage to facilitate restoration and a return to normalcy, says Justin Ratley at Munsch Hardt.
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Key Insurance Considerations After $725M Benzene Verdict
The recent massive benzene verdict in Gill v. Exxon Mobil will certainly trigger insurance questions — and likely a new wave of benzene suits — so potential defendants should study Radiator Specialty v. Arrowood Indemnity, the only state high court decision regarding benzene claim coverage, says Jonathan Hardin at Perkins Coie.