Property
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February 12, 2024
NM Dry Cleaner Says Policy Covers Chemical Cleanup Costs
The property owner of a New Mexico dry cleaner told a federal court Monday that State Farm has refused to defend it against an investigation and demand for remediation from the state's environmental protection agency after the discovery of chlorinated solvent contamination in its property's soil.
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February 12, 2024
8th Circ. Affirms Insurer Win In Mo. COVID-19 Coverage Row
The Eighth Circuit affirmed an insurer's win against a Missouri city that sought coverage for sales tax revenue losses resulting from pandemic-related shutdowns, saying Monday that the city's interpretation of a policy endorsement is not reasonable.
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February 12, 2024
Three-State Test Critical To Evaluating Carrier Climate Risk
An analysis finding that insurers' investment portfolios are at risk of losing billions of dollars under delayed climate-transition plans is an important step to fully understanding how well carriers' business activities are aligned with climate goals, experts say.
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February 12, 2024
$1M Alcohol Spill Coverage Suit Not Federal Case, Co. Says
A packaging company being sued by its insurer after expired alcoholic beverages seeped into a warehouse floor, causing more than $1 million in damage, told a Tennessee federal court it should toss the suit because it lacked jurisdiction.
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February 12, 2024
Travelers Says No Coverage For $1.8M Pollution Cleanup
A Travelers unit said it has no duty to reimburse an oil and gas company over $1.8 million for costs it incurred cleaning up 1,600 barrels of spilled brine water, telling a Pennsylvania federal court the company failed to meet its policies' reporting requirements.
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February 09, 2024
State Farm Defends Pricing Setting Insured Says Shorted Her
State Farm Fire and Casualty Co. renewed its bid to toss a Mississippi homeowner's proposed class action over allegations it intentionally underpaid fire damage claims, arguing it was correct to use a "new construction" setting in its pricing software that led to lower recoverable labor costs.
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February 09, 2024
2nd Circ. Affirms Starr Can't Sue To Defend Coverage Denial
The Second Circuit on Friday refused to revive Starr Indemnity & Liability Co.'s suit, which a district court had concluded the insurer used to defend its decision to deny a clothing company coverage for stolen and water-damaged goods.
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February 09, 2024
Ala. Insurer Gets Hurricane Sally Repair Coverage Suit Cut
A Chubb unit successfully trimmed bad faith allegations from a lawsuit seeking coverage for a condominium complex that was damaged by Hurricane Sally in 2020, as an Alabama federal judge found that the condo never showed that its insurance claims were denied by the insurer.
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February 09, 2024
Insurer Settles $1.7M Fluorescent Sign Fire Damage Suit
United Fire & Casualty Co. reached a settlement in its $1.7 million suit against a Texas sign-making company, resolving its bid to recover funds paid to a bed and breakfast after a fluorescent sign caught fire and damaged the property.
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February 09, 2024
Bad Faith Claim Rejected Again In Hurricane Ida Coverage Suit
A Louisiana federal judge again refused to find that the insurer of a suburban New Orleans commercial property acted in bad faith in denying to cover $220,000 in damage Hurricane Ida allegedly caused in 2021.
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February 09, 2024
Court Says 'Catastrophe' Applies In COVID Reinsurance Cases
A London court has allowed insurers to make claims under reinsurance contracts for business interruption losses claimed during the COVID-19 pandemic, saying that the outbreak of an infectious disease constitutes a "catastrophe" under the policy wording.
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February 08, 2024
Texas Adjuster No Longer To Pretend To Be Lloyd's Of London
An insurance adjuster who hijacked the good name of British underwriting giant Lloyd's of London after blaming it for lost compensation agreed in Texas federal court to shut down businesses he opened in its name.
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February 08, 2024
8th Circ. Won't Revive Renter's Fire Loss Coverage Fight
The Eighth Circuit refused Thursday to revive an Arkansas renter's fire coverage suit against her insurer, finding a district court was correct to permanently dismiss the case over what it said were willful failures to follow its orders and properly participate in discovery.
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February 08, 2024
Insurance Orgs. Say Bill Would Prevent CFPB Overreach
Bipartisan legislation seeking to clarify the powers of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has drawn support from insurance regulators and industry trade groups who say the bureau has encroached upon state-based insurance regulation despite clear statutory limitations.
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February 08, 2024
Esurance Pockets Totaled Vehicles' Sales Tax, Suit Says
Auto insurer Esurance stole from customers by routinely failing to cover sales tax on totaled vehicles, a policyholder said in a proposed class action filed in New York federal court.
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February 08, 2024
Apt. Owners Can't Avoid Arbitrating Ida Damage, Insurers Say
Seven New Orleans-area property owners must submit their Hurricane Ida damage claims to arbitration proceedings regardless of whether one of two foreign conventions applies to the case over the other, a group of 10 insurers told a Louisiana federal court.
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February 07, 2024
'Family' Exclusion Nixes Coverage For Menards, 8th Circ. Says
An Iowa Menards home improvement retailer doesn't have coverage under the insurance of a customer who launched an injury suit against it, an Eighth Circuit panel ruled in a published opinion, finding intrafamily immunity applied, even if the shopper was unrelated to the employee who allegedly dropped lumber on her.
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February 07, 2024
No Defense Owed For $500K Defects Dispute, Insurer Says
A GBLI Global Indemnity unit does not owe coverage to a general contractor and subcontractor in connection with a Clearwater, Florida-area couple's bid for more than $500,000 in damages for construction defects, the insurer has told a Florida federal court.
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February 07, 2024
La. Pizzeria, State Farm Settle Hurricane Damages Suit
State Farm and a Louisiana pizzeria reached an agreement in their dispute over allegations that the insurer was artificially suppressing the cost of repairs and over-depreciating losses on claims connected to damage from Hurricanes Laura and Delta, the two parties told a Louisiana federal court.
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February 07, 2024
No Coverage For Apt. Complex In Negligence Row, Court Told
The owner and managers of a Kansas City, Missouri-area apartment complex can't get coverage for a proposed class action brought by its tenants over claims of putrid living conditions, an insurer told a federal court, claiming several exclusions in its policies bar any recovery.
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February 07, 2024
Fla. Aircraft Co.'s Claims Narrowed In Hurricane Coverage Suit
A Florida federal judge pumped the brakes on some of a Florida aircraft company's claims against its insurer related to its relocation in 2017 after Hurricane Irma, saying the company can't introduce previously concealed damages in the nearly $250,000 dispute.
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February 06, 2024
Church Urges 5th Circ. To Affirm $2M Hurricane Coverage Win
Church Mutual Insurance Co. may not like the $2 million judgment a Louisiana federal judge handed down over unpaid hurricane damages, but there's no ground to disturb the award, the First United Pentecostal Church in DeQuincy has told the Fifth Circuit.
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February 06, 2024
Investment Report Shows Cost Of Delaying Climate Action
Insurers could face billions of dollars in losses if they continue with their current courses of investments that contribute to climate change, according to a new analysis by insurance regulators from California, Oregon and Washington.
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February 06, 2024
Appeals Court Upholds Insurers' COVID-19 Coverage Win
A Texas state appeals court upheld on Tuesday a decision that a pollution and contamination exclusion prevents coverage for Baylor College of Medicine's COVID-19-related losses.
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February 06, 2024
Complex Not Covered For $4M Shooting Claim, Insurer Says
A Nationwide unit told a Georgia federal court it doesn't owe coverage to an Atlanta apartment complex for a tenant's bid to hold it liable for injuries she suffered during a shooting, claiming the complex waited nearly a year to notify the insurer.
Expert Analysis
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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After Ida, A Look At Sandy's Flood Insurance Lessons
The flood insurance experience gained in connection with Superstorm Sandy can offer valuable lessons to those that have suffered a flood loss from the recent Hurricane Ida, and can guide others before and after the next storm, say Lee Epstein and Matthew Goldstein at Flaster Greenberg.
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Federal Courts Make 2 Basic Errors In Virus Coverage Rulings
Many federal courts deciding dispositive motions in COVID-19 business interruption coverage cases are neglecting fundamental precepts of civil procedure by acting as fact-finders or failing to defer to forum state decisions, say attorneys at Hunton.
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Lifting The Veil On The Supreme Court's Shadow Docket
Following headline-making U.S. Supreme Court emergency orders on Texas’ new abortion law, COVID-19 restrictions and more, Vetan Kapoor, counsel to Senate Judiciary Committee ranking member Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, examines the court's so-called shadow docket and its decision-making procedures, including questions around transparency, timing and precedential effect.