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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Insurers Should Prepare For 'Black Swan' Climate Disasters
As rapid climate change results in increased risk of casualties and property loss from rare, severe weather events, the insurance industry should take five crucial steps toward evolving and continuing operations, including advanced analytic techniques and investments in alternative energy sources, say Stephen Brown and Irena Maier at Wilson Elser.
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3 Quirks Of New Jersey Insurance Coverage Law
There are a multitude of state-specific requirements and nuances that make New Jersey insurance law unique, including in the areas of duty to defend, reservation of rights and bad faith, say attorneys at Goldberg Segalla.
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Conn. Insurers Should Note Stricter Market Exit Oversight
The Connecticut Insurance Department recently issued a bulletin that reflects a unique and stricter approach to insurers' market withdrawals and reductions in property and casualty business, making clear that it will not assess compliance based on an insurer's intent, but on the effect of the insurer's actions, says Elizabeth Retersdorf at Day Pitney.
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Extreme Weather And Renewable Project Insurance Coverage
Excerpt from Practical Guidance
The regularity and severity of extreme weather events driven by climate change are putting renewable energy projects increasingly at risk — so project owners, contractors and investors should understand the issues that can arise in these situations when seeking recovery under a builder's risk insurance policy, say Paul Ferland and Joshua Tumen at Cozen O'Connor.
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Potential Relief For Nevada Insureds Is On The Horizon
A proposed regulation recently issued by the Nevada Division of Insurance would severely restrict the state's new law prohibiting burning-limits policies, enacting welcome changes to address businesses' concerns that the law will make it harder to obtain cost-effective liability insurance, says Sheri Thome at Wilson Elser.
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NY Co-Ops Must Avoid Pitfalls When Navigating Insurance
In light of skyrocketing premiums, tricky exclusions and dwindling options, New York cooperative corporations must carefully review potential contractors' insurance policies in order to secure full protection, as even seemingly minor contractor jobs can carry significant risk due to New York labor laws, says Eliot Zuckerman at Smith Gambrell.
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Insurance Rulings Continue Expansion Of Appraisal's Ambit
Two recent Illinois insurance cases allowing property damage appraisers to determine causation — Wysoczan v. Cambridge in federal court and Shelter v. Morrow in state appellate court — perpetuate a judicial trend that will result in a slower, more expensive and cumbersome appraisal process that resembles litigation, says Matthew Fortin at BatesCarey.
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Suits Likely Over Nevada Law Limiting Claimant Injury Exams
A new Nevada law placing barriers on the mental or physical examinations that defendants use to evaluate claimants' injuries will likely spur waves of litigation to reconcile it with existing rules and practice, says Michael Lowry at Wilson Elser.
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Mass. Ruling Shows Value Of Additional Insured Specifics
A Massachusetts court’s recent D.F. Pray v. Wesco Insurance decision demonstrates that blanket additional insured endorsements can create issues with personal jurisdiction, so those named as additional insureds should require their lower-tier contractors to use specific endorsements, say Thomas Dunn and Sheya Rivard at Pierce Atwood.
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7 Ways Telco Operators Can Approach Lead Cable Claims
A recent spotlight on the telecommunication industry shows that companies in the field have known for decades that lead-wrapped cables proliferate in their vast networks, which is likely to provoke prolonged and costly legal battles — but seven best practices can efficiently resolve claims and minimize damage, say consultants at AlixPartners.
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What Wis. High Court Ruling Means For Coverage Analysis
Overturning insurance law precedent in 5 Walworth v. Engerman Contracting, the Wisconsin Supreme Court recently rejected the use of the economic loss doctrine and integrated systems analysis in commercial general liability cases, but a strongly worded concurrence could indicate that the court's opinion may have limited persuasive reach, say Laura Lin and Pierce MacConaghy at Simpson Thacher.
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Auto Insurers Should Reassess Calif. Diminished Value Claims
Many California auto insurers currently pay third-party claims for diminished value damages after a vehicle has been in an accident; however, federal decisions interpreting California law suggest that insurers may not have to pay some of these claims, says Charles Danaher at Sheppard Mullin.
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A Festival Of Litigation Could Arise From 'Electric Zoo' Fiasco
Over Labor Day weekend, thousands of electronic dance music fans were displeased with the organization of the New York City-based Electric Zoo festival, which quickly elicited comparisons to the 2017 Fyre Festival — and three kinds of litigation could ensue from the debacle, say attorneys at Seiden Law.