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Insurance
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May 30, 2024
Mich. Supreme Court To Hear Town Benefits Breach Case
The Michigan Supreme Court has said it will consider whether a village was entitled to coverage for damages it incurred in lawsuits from former employees who sued after the village decided to stop providing lifetime healthcare benefits, ordering oral arguments on an insurer's challenge to a state court's ruling.
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May 30, 2024
NC Insurance Mogul Chases Acquittal After Bribery Retrial
An insurance magnate besieged by litigation and twice convicted on charges of trying to bribe North Carolina's insurance commissioner is looking to undo the latest jury verdict, saying there wasn't enough evidence during the second trial to convict.
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May 30, 2024
Insurance Atty Fights For Lone Woman On Death Row In Miss.
Attorney A. Kate Margolis lives a double life: one, in which she fights on behalf of insurance policyholders as counsel at Bradley, and another, spent trying to save convicted murderer Lisa Jo Chamberlin, the only woman on Mississippi's death row.
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May 30, 2024
State Farm Says Atari Seeks Windfall With IP Suit Over Ad
State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. has urged a Texas federal judge to dismiss a copyright complaint from Atari Interactive Inc., saying the insurer did nothing wrong when it briefly used part of the 1980s arcade game Crystal Castles in a commercial to attract younger customers.
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May 30, 2024
Bottler Says It's Owed Defense In Wine Contamination Dispute
A wine bottler told a California federal court its insurer must reimburse defense costs it incurred while fighting a now-settled suit seeking to hold the company liable for a $1.2 million wine contamination, arguing the lawsuit didn't specifically allege what the bottler's actions were nor the cause of contamination.
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May 30, 2024
Justices Revive NRA's Free Speech Claims Against NY Official
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Thursday that the National Rifle Association can proceed with certain claims in its lawsuit alleging that a former New York state official violated the gun rights group's free speech protections by pressuring financial institutions to cut ties with it.
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May 29, 2024
Fla. Medicare Companies Get Class Cert. In Suit Against USAA
A Florida state court judge granted certification to a class of Medicare-contracted businesses suing USAA Casualty Insurance Co. over allegations the insurer withheld policy information and intentionally passed its obligation to pay automobile injury claims downstream to other companies, according to attorneys representing the group of businesses.
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May 29, 2024
Surety Seeks Over $2.75M In Prison Fencing Work Coverage
A construction surety told a West Virginia federal court Wednesday that subcontractors for a prison fencing project must reimburse it for more than $2.75 million in losses it incurred while settling faulty work claims asserted by the project's general contractor.
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May 29, 2024
Honeywell Ends Suit Over $8.75M Bond For Army Base Work
A Pennsylvania federal court has approved a request from Honeywell International Inc. to drop its lawsuit over an $8.75 million performance bond whose issuer allegedly balked at paying to replace a bankrupt subcontractor for a long-delayed job at the Tobyhanna Army Depot.
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May 29, 2024
Benefits Trade Group Urges Changes To New York PBM Regs
A trade group representing large employers who sponsor employee benefit plans warned New York's insurance regulator that a proposal affecting pharmacy benefit managers — which act as intermediaries between pharmacies, drugmakers and insurers — will trigger litigation without changes before they're finalized to eliminate conflicts with federal benefits law.
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May 29, 2024
Nationwide Says Hyundai, Kia Owe $7.7M For Engine Claims
Nearly a dozen Nationwide insurers told a California federal court Wednesday that Hyundai and Kia are on the hook for 829 engine failure and engine fire claims totaling over $7.7 million in damages resulting from alleged engine defects in certain 2011-2019 vehicle models.
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May 29, 2024
Dealer Faults Trucking Co. For Damage To Yacht In $1.4M Suit
A North Carolina boat dealer is seeking a quick exit from a suit by a yacht owner seeking more than $1.4 million for damage that a yacht sustained during transport across the East Coast, arguing that the trucking company that was hauling the yacht is to blame.
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May 29, 2024
Wash. Panel Ends Quest Diagnostics' COVID Coverage Quest
Quest Diagnostics' insurers don't owe the medical testing lab COVID-19-related business loss coverage, a Washington appeals court said, ruling the company failed to show that the presence of the virus resulted in physical loss or damage to its property.
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May 29, 2024
11th Circ. Backs Insurer's Win In Trampoline Injury Suit
United Specialty Insurance had no duty to defend or indemnify a landscaper accused of negligently installing a trampoline that led to a child's injuries, the Eleventh Circuit affirmed, finding that the landscaper's insurance application expressly disclaimed the installation of recreational or playground equipment.
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May 28, 2024
$10M Policy Excludes Tobacco Group's Suit, Court Told
An insurer told a North Carolina federal court Tuesday that it doesn't owe coverage to a tobacco growers' cooperative saddled with paying out a $100 million settlement for farmers, arguing that its $10 million policy excludes contract claims.
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May 28, 2024
Frontier, Ex-CEO Settle $21.8M Life Insurance Benefits Feud
Frontier Communications and Leonard Tow, its former CEO and the top executive of a predecessor, have privately settled a feud surrounding tens of millions in split-dollar life insurance policies, with both sides asking a Connecticut state court judge to withdraw a $21.8 million prejudgment remedy order issued last month.
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May 28, 2024
Colo. Justices To Mull Atty Advice Defense In Securities Cases
The Colorado Supreme Court has agreed to consider whether the advice a defendant's business attorney gave him is relevant to his state of mind in a securities fraud case, according to an order Tuesday granting the state's petition for appeal.
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May 28, 2024
US Property Insurers See Record Investment Income In 2023
U.S. property and casualty insurers earned a record income of $73.9 billion from their investments in 2023, market analyst AM Best reported Tuesday, a bright spot for an industry beset by underwriting losses connected to natural disasters and high inflation.
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May 28, 2024
Insurers, Charter School Assoc. Dismiss Ida Damage Row
A New Orleans-area charter school system and its insurers have agreed to dismiss their dispute over coverage for the system's Hurricane Ida damage claims, the parties told a Louisiana federal court Tuesday, saying "all claims and causes of action brought forth in the above captioned matter have been compromised."
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May 28, 2024
No Coverage For IT Co.'s 'Collusive' Settlement, Insurer Says
Chubb unit ACE American Insurance Co. told a Colorado federal court it owes no coverage to an IT company found liable by a jury for making fraudulent misrepresentations and breaching its cybersecurity agreement with an investment company, arguing the parties' post-verdict settlement was merely a workaround to "create insurance coverage."
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May 28, 2024
Legal Lenders Can't Avoid Hurricane Ads Suit, Plaintiff Argues
Funding companies that lent $20 million to a Texas law firm accused of using it to deceptively solicit hurricane victims can't escape liability by claiming they didn't know how attorneys were using the money or "simply because they don't have offices in the state," according to a Louisiana woman at the forefront of a putative class action.
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May 28, 2024
OpenText Says Excess Insurer Can't Join Merger Spat
OpenText urged a Michigan federal court to keep an excess insurer out of a coverage dispute stemming from an underlying class action over the software company's merger with Covisint, arguing that the insurer's reasons behind wanting to intervene are speculative and unripe.
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May 28, 2024
Lin Wood Wants Fraud Claims Kept Out Of Defamation Trial
Controversial attorney Lin Wood has asked a Georgia federal judge to bar his former law partners, who allege he falsely accused them of attempted extortion, from introducing evidence at an upcoming August trial related to two separate and still pending suits filed against him in Fulton County.
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May 28, 2024
Insurers Sue To Invalidate DOL ERISA Investment Advice Rule
The American Council of Life Insurers and other insurance groups accused the U.S. Department of Labor's recently finalized retirement investment advice regulations of exceeding DOL authority and violating federal administrative procedure laws in the second such suit filed in Texas court.
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May 24, 2024
No-Show Plaintiff, 'Jackass' Atty Booted Too Fast, Court Says
A Michigan appellate court sympathized with a trial court dealing with a no-show plaintiff and his lawyer who acted like a "jackass" — according to one appellate judge — but ruled Thursday that the trial court needed to do a better job documenting why it tossed the case instead of issuing a lesser sanction.
Expert Analysis
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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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Series
ESG Around The World: Japan
Japan is witnessing rapid developments in environmental, social and corporate governance policies by making efforts to adopt a soft law approach, which has been effective in encouraging companies to embrace ESG practices and address the diversity of boards of directors, say Akira Karasawa and Landry Guesdon at Iwata Godo.
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How And Why Your Firm Should Implement Fixed-Fee Billing
Amid rising burnout in the legal industry and client efforts to curtail spending, pivoting to a fixed-fee billing model may improve client-attorney relationships and offer lawyers financial, logistical and stress relief — while still maintaining profit margins, say Kevin Henderson and Eric Pacifici at SMB Law Group.
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Why Standing Analysis Is Key In Data Breach Mediation
Amid a growing wave of data breach class action litigation, recent legal developments show shifting criteria for Article III standing based on an increased risk of future identity theft, meaning parties must integrate assessments of standing into mediation discussions to substantiate their settlement demands in data breach class actions, says Abe Melamed at Signature Resolution.
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Opinion
Judicial Independence Needs Defense Amid Political Threats
Amid recent and historic challenges to the judiciary from political forces, safeguarding judicial independence and maintaining the integrity of the legal system is increasingly urgent, says Robert Peck at the Center for Constitutional Litigation.
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Assessing D&O Coverage Amid Challenges To DEI Policies
As the recent backlash against corporate diversity, equity and inclusion policies leads to shareholder litigation and other legal challenges, companies bolstering their DEI efforts should ensure that their directors and officers and employment practices' liability insurance policies provide sufficient coverage for potential claims, say Peter Gillon and Patrick Blood at Pillsbury.
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How Law Firms Can Use Account-Based Marketing Strategies
Amid several evolving legal industry trends, account-based marketing can help law firms uncover additional revenue-generating opportunities with existing clients, with key considerations ranging from data analytics to relationship building, say Jennifer Ramsey at stage LLC and consultant Gina Sponzilli.
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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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Wilderness Therapy Ruling May Deter Broad Policy Exclusions
A Utah federal court's recent ruling in M.A. v. United Healthcare that an insurance policy exclusion for the adolescent behavioral health treatment known as wilderness therapy was ambiguous shows that blanket rejections can go too far, and may preclude new rationales for claim denials, says Mark DeBofsky at DeBofsky Law.
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Strategic Succession Planning At Law Firms Is Crucial
Senior partners' reluctance to retire, the rise of the nonequity partner tier and generational differences in expectations are all contributing to an increasing number of departures from BigLaw, making it imperative for firms to encourage retirement among senior ranks and provide clearer leadership pathways to junior attorneys, says Laura Leopard at Leopard Solutions.
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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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Calif. Climate Disclosure Bills Promise Challenges For Cos.
Two novel climate disclosure bills recently passed by the California Legislature will pose challenges for many businesses — especially private companies that are less familiar with climate-related reporting obligations — and will require investments of significant time and effort in processes, procedures and personnel, say John Rousakis and Chris Bowman at O'Melveny.