Property
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May 16, 2024
Justices Dodge Class Action Queries In $3.5B Insurance Row
The U.S. Supreme Court left open the question of when class actions should be relegated to state courts by declining a mutual insurance company's appeal of claims that it failed to return $3.5 billion in profits back to policyholders.
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May 16, 2024
3 Big Bankruptcy Cases Still Pending At The Supreme Court
The U.S. Supreme Court may have declined to hear a challenge to non-debtor litigation stays in mass tort bankruptcies this week in the Chapter 11 case of Georgia-Pacific's asbestos spinoff, but it is still slated to hand down decisions with the potential for wide-reaching impacts to mass torts and beyond this term.
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May 16, 2024
R&W Insurers' Claims Handling A 'Big Differentiator,' Aon Says
As competition in the market for representations and warranties insurance heats up, carriers' claims processes are becoming "one of the biggest differentiators" for securing repeat business, Aon said in its latest R&W claims report Thursday, finding that claim frequency has hovered near the 18% mark for so-called off-risk policies.
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May 16, 2024
Oversight Hearing Adds Pressure On Calif. Insurance Chief
Under growing pressure from Gov. Gavin Newsom and the insurance industry, California’s top insurance regulator defended its process of implementing proposals to stabilize the Golden State’s faltering homeowners insurance market.
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May 16, 2024
Insurance Litigation Week In Review
An Arizona judge issued an apparently novel ruling over a foreign discovery statute's applicability to a Canadian arbitration, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to take up a $3.5 billion underwriting surplus class action and policyholders accused UnitedHealth of covering up a U.S. Department of Justice antitrust investigation.
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May 16, 2024
Apt. Complex Must Face Insurer's Mold Death Coverage Suit
A Georgia federal judge has refused to toss an insurer's suit seeking to evade coverage of an apartment complex accused of failing to stop a mold infestation that killed a tenant, finding the insurer has plausibly alleged it does not have a duty to defend under the prevailing insurance policy.
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May 15, 2024
Insurer Secures Early Win In $5M Warehouse Damage Row
An insurer doesn't have to cover over $5 million in damage a property owner said it sustained after a warehouse break-in, a Pennsylvania federal judge ruled, finding that a vacancy provision in a commercial insurance policy wasn't ambiguous and the insurer didn't act in bad faith.
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May 13, 2024
Assault Exclusion Dooms Restaurant's Coverage For Murder
An insurer doesn't have to indemnify a Detroit restaurant accused of contributing to the 2019 shooting death of a potential patron by failing to provide adequate security, the Sixth Circuit said.
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May 13, 2024
Insurer's Countersuit Pared In $1.85M Boat Fire Coverage Row
A Florida federal judge has allowed part of an insurer's countersuit to continue in a yacht owner's dispute over coverage for a 2023 boat fire after the insurer denied the company for allegedly misrepresenting boat prices.
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May 13, 2024
Justices Decline To Hear $3.5B Insurance Surplus Case
A proposed class action accusing an insurer of failing to return an over $3.5 billion surplus of underwriting profits back to policyholder members will be litigated in Illinois state court, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday, denying the company's bid for certiorari.
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May 10, 2024
Medical Device Co., Insurers Settle Equipment Damage Loss
A medical device manufacturer and its insurers have settled their coverage dispute over the manufacturer's claim it suffered an "equipment breakdown loss" damaging its mills, lathes and vacuum pump, the insurers told a Florida federal court.
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May 09, 2024
10th Circ. Appeal May Expand Pollution Coverage In NM
The Tenth Circuit will hear oral arguments May 20 to determine whether absolute pollution exclusions doom a New Mexico property owner's quest for $120,000 in defense coverage in a case attorneys say could determine the future of such environmental coverage in the state.
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May 09, 2024
REIT Says Insurers Must Cover Antitrust Conspiracy Claims
A real estate investment trust accused its insurers of wrongfully denying coverage for an underlying multidistrict litigation alleging that the company was part of an antitrust conspiracy to inflate rents for multifamily housing, telling a Colorado federal court that the MDL falls plainly within multiple coverage parts of its policies.
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May 09, 2024
Md. Insurance Chief On Keeping Up With AI Regulation
The insurance industry is exploring artificial intelligence technology use in its business as regulators like Maryland Insurance Commissioner Kathleen Birrane work to keep up and protect consumers from the risks of the evolving technology. Here, Law360 checks in with Birrane on the subject.
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May 09, 2024
DEA Cannabis Proposal Likely To Keep Insurers Sidelined
Federal drug enforcers' recent proposal to remove cannabis' designation as a high-risk drug with no accepted medical use could portend insurance benefits, but experts say uncertainties over the drug's mixed legal status will keep insurers sidelined for now.
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May 09, 2024
Insurance Litigation Week In Review
Michigan's top court mulled the effect of new liability coverage mandates on older auto policies, a group of insurers escaped arbitration in an airport terminal defect dispute, and South Carolina drivers were granted class certification in a suit over Progressive's total loss vehicle valuation methods.
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May 09, 2024
A Mother's Fight To Secure Insurance Benefits For Autism
After Lorri Unumb's son was diagnosed with autism, she spent over a decade drafting and securing legislative mandates for autism insurance benefits across the country. With Mother's Day on May 12, Law360 spoke with Unumb about how for her, motherhood included a calling to advocate for autism therapy coverage.
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May 08, 2024
Water-Damaged Conn. Hotel Sues Insurer For More Coverage
A Connecticut hotel took Sompo America Insurance Co. to state court after the insurer only partially covered substantial water damage that forced the newly opened lodge's closure and purportedly offered "nonsensical" justifications for denying full coverage.
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May 07, 2024
Insurer Seeks Hearing Cancellation In Arbitrator Bias Dispute
An insurer seeking the removal of an arbitrator in a Bermuda reinsurance coverage dispute told the Second Circuit on Tuesday that a hearing on the issue should be canceled as an award was issued in the arbitration, rendering the dispute moot.
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May 07, 2024
Title Insurer Gets Partial Win Against Lender In Lien Dispute
A lender seeking coverage from its title insurer for mechanic's lien claims after the owner of a senior living community defaulted on its $26 million construction loan can only potentially get coverage under a disbursement endorsement in its policy, a Colorado federal court ruled, finding an exclusion applicable.
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May 06, 2024
Meet The Attys For NC Insurance Mogul Facing Bribery Retrial
Nearly two years after the Fourth Circuit exonerated Greg E. Lindberg on bribery and wire fraud charges, a team of Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP partners with prosecution experience has joined forces with prominent white collar defense lawyer James F. Wyatt lll in hopes of staving off a second conviction for the embattled insurance tycoon.
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May 03, 2024
How Big IP Judgment Winners Are Insuring 'Nuclear Verdicts'
Until a few years ago, intellectual property plaintiffs who scored large monetary awards — often referred to as "nuclear verdicts" — had to wait out a lengthy appellate process before knowing how much money they would end up with. But a relatively new type of insurance policy is allowing plaintiffs to insure part of their judgment in case it gets reduced or wiped out on appeal.
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May 02, 2024
Allstate Secures Win In Untimely Ga. Storm Damage Dispute
The Georgia Court of Appeals upheld a trial court's grant of a directed verdict in favor of Allstate in a dispute brought by two homeowners who claimed the insurer owed over $430,000 after it failed to cover all sums they believed were owed for storm damage.
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May 02, 2024
Farmers Face Uphill Fight In 5th Circ. Silo Coverage Row
A Texas farming cooperative faces an uphill battle in persuading the Fifth Circuit to undo a ruling that denied it coverage for a $1.3 million arbitration award for construction defects in their grain silos, experts told Law360.
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May 02, 2024
USAA Wrongly Denied Fire Damage Claim, Wash. Couple Says
A Washington couple accused their homeowners insurer of unreasonably denying their fire damage claim despite their timely response to all of the insurer's claim inquiries and requests, further accusing the insurer of violating Washington's Consumer Protection Act and Insurance Fair Conduct Act.
Expert Analysis
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More Stringent Calif. Claim Law Could Benefit Policyholders
Although a new California statute that imposes additional requirements for policyholder presuit demands — effective Jan. 1 — was ostensibly passed as a bad faith liability shield for insurers, used correctly it may provide a more specific road map for plaintiff recovery, says Shanti Eagle at Farella Braun.
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Hard Insurance Market Will Influence Legal Industry, Economy
As the cost of claims starts to outstrip the value of premiums, insurers are denying more claims and considering scaling back coverage, leading to an influx of legal work and potential holes in the market, says Bruce Hepburn at Mactavish.
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Check This List Twice: 4 Steps To Abate Coverage Concerns
This holiday season give your company the gift of following easy administrative steps to avoid the far-too-common clerical errors that could lead to forfeited insurance coverage, say Vivek Chopra and Mattison Kim at Perkins Coie.
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Lessons On Notice From 7th Circ. Claims-Made Policy Ruling
The Seventh Circuit's recent decision in Hanover Insurance v. R.W. Dunteman contains broad lessons for policyholders — as many claims-made policies include similar aggregation and claims notice provisions as the one at issue — on how to preserve coverage, say Brian Scarbrough and Maura Smyles at Jenner & Block.
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Fla. Insurance Suit Trends To Look Out For After Hurricane Ian
There will likely be tens of thousands of property insurance lawsuits filed in the wake of Hurricane Ian, and carriers and insureds will need to view claims through Florida's Valued Policy Law, the concurrent cause doctrine and anti-concurrent cause provisions, say David Levin and Spencer Leach at Baker Donelson.
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Property Policies Could Cover Organized Retail Crime Losses
Following a recent surge in organized retail crime, policyholders can look to case law that suggests they may be able to skirt property policy loss exclusions if they can produce evidence of theft, says Micah Skidmore at Haynes Boone.
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Policyholders Are Not To Blame For Social Inflation
As part of the controversial assertion that insurers are facing an unprecedented increase in claims costs due to so-called social inflation, a recent Law360 guest article argued that policyholders contribute to social inflation and are therefore responsible for remedying it, but these accusations are unsupported by empirical data, says Benjamin Tievsky at Pillsbury.
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How A Publication Request Helped Shape COVID Case Law
More than a decade after MRI Healthcare v. State Farm was decided in a California state appeals court, the case influenced the early development of COVID-19 business interruption insurance law and shows how counsel can use publication requests to help shape the industry, say Josephine Petrick and Ashley Nakai at Hanson Bridgett.
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A Recovery Option For Lenders With Planes Stuck In Russia
For aircraft lessors considering insurance coverage litigation to recover for losses of equipment leased to Russian airlines, negotiating an assignment of rights may provide a faster pathway to recovery, say David Klein and Jose Lua-Valencia at Pillsbury.
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Policyholders Should Also Want To Fight Social Inflation
Effectively combating the ills of social inflation — the upward creep in insurance litigation and expected payouts — requires all stakeholders, not just insurers, to recognize the mutual interests between insurers and the risk pool of insureds, says Bryant Green at Zelle.
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Property Claim Ruling Rightly Backs Texas Removal Policy
The Fifth Circuit’s recent decision in Advanced Indicator v. Acadia Insurance, allowing the insurer to remove a property damage suit to federal court, ensures that abusive practices related to weather claims will continue to be thwarted per an important chapter of the Texas Insurance Code, says Karl Schulz at Cozen.
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Trends And Opportunities In Canada's Insurance M&A Market
Laurie LaPalme and Derek Levinsky at Dentons discuss the results of a survey regarding Canada's insurance mergers and acquisitions market, and their expectations for the next year in this space — including an increased focus on accident and sickness insurance, and technology-focused assets.
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4 Themes From Policyholder Wins In COVID Coverage Cases
As COVID-19 business interruption coverage lawsuits wind their way through state and federal courts, the broader trends emerging from the policyholder victories can assist insureds and their counsel with strategic litigation decisions, says Nicholas Insua at Reed Smith.