General Liability
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March 14, 2024
Insurance Litigation Week In Review
A divided Colorado Supreme Court expanded application of the state's notice-prejudice rule, the Fourth Circuit tossed a COVID-19 coverage class action and the Eighth Circuit considered whether insurers' billing agreements with healthcare providers violated Minnesota's No-Fault Act. Here, Law360 takes a look at this week's top insurance news.
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March 14, 2024
8th Circ. Weighs If No-Bill Agreements Break Minn. Law
The Eighth Circuit carefully considered arguments Thursday between six Farmers units and a policyholder class as to whether the carriers' agreements with healthcare providers restricted the class's medical expense coverage in violation of Minnesota law, giving little indication of which way it leaned.
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March 14, 2024
Justices To Consider Insurer's Right To Participate In Ch. 11
The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to hear arguments Tuesday on whether Truck Insurance Exchange retains standing to oppose the proposed reorganization plan of two bankrupt manufacturers facing a bevy of underlying asbestos injury claims, after the Fourth Circuit blocked Truck's opposition since the plan was "insurance neutral."
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March 14, 2024
Insurer Climate Info Partnership Ups Federal Monitor's Role
A new data-sharing partnership between the U.S. Treasury and state insurance regulators reflects the government's growing interest in understanding and monitoring climate change risks to insurance markets, experts say, but questions remain over the extent to which the data will fully reflect the industry's risks and carbon footprint.
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March 14, 2024
4th Circ. Weighs Insurer's Duty To Defend Land-Use Dispute
The Fourth Circuit will decide whether to overturn a West Virginia federal ruling allowing an insurer to avoid covering a sustainable farm that has been accused by the oil and gas company of blocking it from drilling wells in a $4 million state land-use dispute. Here, Law360 breaks down the case in advance of the forthcoming decision.
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March 14, 2024
Justices To Weigh Free Speech, Gov't Oversight In NRA Row
The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments next week over whether a former New York state official illegally pressured financial institutions to cut ties to the National Rifle Association, setting up a showdown between free speech rights and regulatory oversight.
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March 14, 2024
An Insurance Attorney's Call To Military Service
Jeffrey Bristol of Parrish Law PA is a self-described "later-in-life lawyer" wearing many hats because he has dedicated more than a decade to serving in multiple branches of the U.S. armed forces.
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March 14, 2024
Towers Watson Ruling Energizes Bump-Up Supporters, Critics
A Virginia federal court decision freeing Towers Watson's insurers from covering shareholder suit settlements totaling $90 million has offered carriers support for their use of the so-called bump-up exclusion and prompted criticism from policyholders that the exclusion has gone too far.
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March 13, 2024
Aetna Can't Avoid Bias Suit Over Fertility Treatment Policy
Aetna must face a proposed class action alleging it readily covers fertility treatments for infertile heterosexual women but forces non-heterosexual women to spend thousands out of pocket before paying for their treatments, with a Connecticut federal judge saying it doesn't matter if the insurer didn't control the health plan's terms.
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March 12, 2024
Geico Policyholders Lose Cert. Bid In Pandemic Premium Suit
An Illinois federal judge on Tuesday denied class certification in litigation claiming that Geico profited off the COVID-19 pandemic by charging excessive car insurance premiums, ruling that the policyholders who filed the lawsuit had not shown that their damages model could be calculated on a classwide basis.
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March 12, 2024
Gunmaker, Insurer Settle Coverage Of NY 'Ghost Gun' Suits
A gunmaker accused by the New York attorney general and two cities of facilitating the creation of so-called ghost guns has reached a coverage settlement with one of its insurers, the parties told a Florida federal court Tuesday, leaving the gunmaker's coverage claims against another insurer still pending.
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March 12, 2024
NJ Diocese Asks Court To Toss Insurer's Abuse Coverage Suit
The Catholic Diocese of Trenton asked a New Jersey federal court to toss an insurer's action seeking to escape coverage for more than 200 suits alleging sexual abuse by clergy, saying the coverage dispute is "premature, vague, and ambiguous."
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March 11, 2024
Fla. Biz Owner Says Insurer Left Co. On Hook For $12M Award
The owner of a Florida Keys construction and landscaping company told federal jurors Monday that it made no sense for National Indemnity Company of the South to tender the policy limits to his employee involved in a fatal crash while leaving the company exposed and forced to go to trial, where it was hit with an $11.8 million judgment.
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March 11, 2024
Travelers Owes No Coverage For Mo. Wall Mishap, Judge Says
Travelers has no duty to provide over $1.4 million to a St. Louis area property developer for administrative expenses and loss of rental income stemming from a retaining wall failure, a Missouri federal court ruled Monday, finding such coverage didn't extend to additional insureds on a general contractor's policy.
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March 08, 2024
Exclusion Bars Coverage For Ga. Fair E. Coli Suit
Nautilus Insurance Co. has no duty to defend or indemnify a harvest fair accused in an underlying state court suit of exposing two children to E. coli, a Georgia federal court has ruled, saying an infectious disease exclusion unambiguously precludes coverage.
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March 08, 2024
11th Circ. Declines To Hear Building Defect Coverage Dispute
It's too early to determine whether a Florida federal court erred in its coverage determinations in a long-running construction defect insurance dispute, the Eleventh Circuit has ruled, finding that the "purported final judgment here does not dispose of all claims against all parties."
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March 07, 2024
Insurance Litigation Week In Review
The California Supreme Court heard COVID-19 coverage arguments, the Fifth Circuit ordered arbitration between a property owner and its domestic insurers, and a New Hampshire federal court said Liberty Mutual owes no defense for class action claims over a sleep machine cleaner.
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March 07, 2024
Insurer, Biz To Face Trial Over $11.8M Wrongful Death Verdict
A Florida federal judge is sending to trial a coverage dispute between a construction and landscaping company and its insurer over an $11.8 million jury verdict for the wrongful deaths of four women after finding that there are questions of fact regarding whether the insurer acted in bad faith.
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March 07, 2024
Mixed Feelings On AI At Cyberinsurance Symposium
Panelists at the Professional Liability Underwriting Society's cyber symposium in New York City on Tuesday and Wednesday were both excited and scared about generative artificial intelligence, acknowledging that it may be used in more complicated cyberattacks yet curious about the possibility the new market could bring.
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March 07, 2024
Anti-Fraud Tool At Risk In 8th Circ. Billing Row, Carriers Say
Insurers' ability to enter agreements that limit billings with healthcare providers, which they contend help combat insurance fraud, is up in the air in Minnesota as the Eighth Circuit gears up to hear arguments Thursday over whether such agreements violate a state law guaranteeing prompt automobile accident insurance payouts.
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March 07, 2024
Towers Watson Insurers Off Hook For $90M Merger Coverage
Towers Watson's insurers do not need to cover settlements totaling $90 million in two shareholder suits stemming from the company's merger with Willis, a Virginia federal judge ruled, saying the transaction was barred by a so-called bump-up exclusion.
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March 07, 2024
Women In Insurance Law On Breaking Down Barriers
Building a better environment for women in the legal industry starts from the top, women in insurance law told Law360. To mark International Women's Day, both junior and senior women attorneys share their experiences in the industry and offer words of advice.
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March 06, 2024
6th Circ. Orders Do-Over For Insurer's $3.3M Recoupment Row
A Sixth Circuit panel on Tuesday revived a Chubb unit's bid to recoup costs from two other insurers after it helped windshield repair company Safelite pay for its defense against a competitor's suit, saying the lower court must conduct an analysis to determine whether the other carriers were prejudiced by late notice.
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March 06, 2024
Fla. Judge Relieves Insurer Of $1M Construction Defect Row
An insurer has no obligation to defend or indemnify a general contractor or subcontractor in an over $1 million faulty construction dispute, a Florida federal judge ruled, finding that the subcontractor's policies contained an unambiguous "residential construction" exclusion that clearly barred coverage.
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March 06, 2024
Power Co. Can't Escape Explosion Fraud Claim
An infrastructure supply company can't toss a fraud claim brought by an industrial company's insurers in a suit seeking to recoup $18.7 million in damages for a manufacturing facility explosion, an Ohio federal court ruled, finding that the carriers can bring both a breach of contract claim and a fraud claim.
Expert Analysis
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Courts Shouldn't Consider Bodily Injury Claims In Opioid Suits
Although public nuisance claims are driving opioid lawsuits, some recent court decisions are making a mistake by blurring the distinction between claims for individual injury and claims for governmental abatement funding, potentially manufacturing unintended insurance coverage and depleting insurance where it is actually needed, says Adam Fleischer at BatesCarey.
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Pandemic-Era Civil Jury Trials Require Constitutional Scrutiny
Courts should carefully consider the constitutional rights of litigants before restarting civil jury trials amid the pandemic, because inadequate remote voir dire procedures and evidentiary handicaps due to health safety measures could amount to the denial of a fair trial by an impartial jury, say attorneys at Rumberger Kirk.
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Restaurant Virus Coverage Ruling Is An Outlier
Though a Missouri federal court allowed a group of hair salons and restaurants to sue for COVID-19 business interruption losses, Studio 417 v. Cincinnati Insurance is easily distinguishable from other virus insurance coverage cases, contradicts existing case law and offers prospects for minimal recovery at best, say Keith Moskowitz and Erin Bradham at Dentons.
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Restaurant Virus Coverage Ruling Offers Insight For Insureds
A Missouri federal court’s recent decision allowing hair salon and restaurant owners to pursue COVID-19 insurance coverage class action claims in Studio 417 v. The Cincinnati Insurance Co. reminds policyholders of the importance of arguing that COVID-19 is a physical substance, and that physical loss and physical damage must be defined separately, say attorneys at Reed Smith.
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Lessons From Asbestos Can Help Resolve Opioid Liabilities
The effects of opioid litigation and settlements on pharmaceutical companies, insurers and others could be financially devastating, so affected entities should consider a practice used by companies with asbestos liabilities — a restructuring that separates those liabilities from ongoing operations, say consultants at Nathan Associates and Financial Asset Recovery Analytics.
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Ambiguity Favors Insureds In COVID-19 Coverage Disputes
The rule that ambiguous insurance policy language should be construed against the carrier serves as a strong argument for policyholders in business interruption coverage litigation related to COVID-19, but the assertion has been invoked infrequently, say Jay Angoff and Joshua Karsh at Mehri & Skalet.
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Cos. Can Sell Future Asbestos Liabilities To Avoid Bankruptcy
Bankruptcy has become an increasingly common solution for asbestos defendants, but the sale of contingent liabilities to a third party may provide a less complex and costly resolution of asbestos claims, say Milan Ceppi and Charles Oswald at Financial Asset Recovery Analytics.
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Mich. Ruling Isn't Last Word On COVID-19 Insurance Claims
Although a Michigan state court dismissed the plaintiff's business interruption claim in Gavrilides Management v. Michigan Insurance, distinguishing features of the first dispositive decision in a COVID-19 coverage dispute will limit its impact on similar insurance litigation, say attorneys at Haynes and Boone.
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Ohio Ruling Adds To Insurance Uncertainty For Opioid Suits
An Ohio appeals court's recent decision in Acuity v. Masters Pharmaceutical fails to address an insurer's duty to indemnify policyholders embattled in opioid litigation, only amplifying the uncertainty surrounding insurance coverage for opioid judgments and settlements, say attorneys at Nicolaides.
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How COVID-19 May Change Environmental M&A Due Diligence
As M&A transactions face increased scrutiny in the pandemic-stressed economic landscape, environmental due diligence must address changing business imperatives and reflect evolving health and safety concerns, says Michael Bittner at Ramboll.
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Regulatory Estoppel Does Not Invalidate The Virus Exclusion
Some policyholders seeking coverage for losses stemming from COVID-19 are arguing that virus exclusions are invalid due to regulatory estoppel, but this theory lacks substance and threatens to undermine formal clarifications of insurance policy intent, say Jonathan Schwartz and Colin Willmott at Goldberg Segalla.
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Leaving The Tort System Behind Via Corporate Risk Transfer
With an increasingly litigious tort environment for corporate defendants, companies holding legacy liabilities would do well to investigate a capital markets solution for transferring their risks, say Mark Hemmann at FARA LLC and Peter Kelso at Roux Associates.
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History Can Inform Pandemic Biz Interruption Insurance Cases
Historical catastrophes like the SARS epidemic, the 9/11 terrorist attacks and asbestos exposure provide helpful context for understanding the scale of current insurance litigation stemming from coronavirus-related business interruption, say Anne Gron and Georgi Tsvetkov at AlixPartners.