General Liability
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May 21, 2024
Strategic Hiring Was The New Normal For BigLaw In 2023
The 400 largest law firms by headcount in the U.S. grew more slowly in 2023 than in the previous two years, while Kirkland & Ellis LLP surpassed the 3,000-attorney threshold, according to the latest Law360 ranking.
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May 21, 2024
The Law360 400: Tracking The Largest US Law Firms
The legal market expanded more tentatively in 2023 than in previous years amid a slowdown in demand for legal services, especially in transactions, an area that has been sluggish but is expected to quicken in the near future.
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May 20, 2024
10th Circ. Oral Args. Poised To Shape NM Pollution Coverage
The Tenth Circuit said there were "good arguments on both sides" of an appeal at oral arguments Monday over whether absolute pollution exclusions doomed a New Mexico property owner's quest for defense coverage of underlying contamination litigation, in a case that could set the tone for insurance battles in the state.
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May 20, 2024
3 Insurance Execs Can't Hit Pause On Asset Theft Claims
Three former Sherbrooke Corporate Ltd. executives accused of stealing assets when they left to form their own venture lost a bid to halt the company's lawsuit, after a North Carolina federal judge doubted that their efforts to toss the case would succeed.
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May 20, 2024
Auto Accessory Co. Secures Partial Coverage For BIPA Row
An insurer must defend an automotive accessory company in a proposed class action alleging violations of Illinois' Biometric Information Privacy Act, the Seventh Circuit ruled, finding that unlike the company's primary and excess commercial general liability policies, an umbrella policy "lacks an exclusion pertaining to nonpublic information."
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May 17, 2024
Colo. Precedent Barred Insurer's Crash Liability Challenge
A Colorado state appeals court affirmed a lower court's finding that a Progressive unit couldn't contest liability in its policyholder's car crash case involving an uninsured driver, saying the lower court correctly applied binding Colorado Supreme Court precedent.
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May 17, 2024
$5M Candy Recall Coverage Dispute Moved To Texas Court
An insurer's lawsuit disclaiming coverage for a candy manufacturer over a near $5 million recall over metal fragments found in certain gummy candies belongs in Texas, a New York federal judge has ruled, finding that the action was "filed preemptively to deprive the natural plaintiff of its choice of forum."
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May 17, 2024
5th Circ. Won't Rethink SXSW Ticket Coverage Ruling
The Fifth Circuit will not reconsider ordering a Chubb unit to cover defense costs incurred by Texas music festival South by Southwest from a class action by ticket holders seeking refunds after Austin officials canceled the festival in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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May 16, 2024
Convicted Insurance Mogul Says He'll Trim Empire
Convicted insurance mogul Greg Lindberg told the North Carolina Supreme Court he's relinquishing control of portions of his enterprise to fulfill a deal to restructure them with independent oversight, according to court filings.
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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 Says Security Co. Not Covered For Nightclub Injuries
A security services company is not owed coverage for three underlying personal injury lawsuits stemming from multiple shooting and stabbing incidents at a Florida gentlemen's club, an insurer told a New York federal court, stating its policies exclude coverage for injuries sustained at clubs and assault.
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May 15, 2024
Colo. Law Firm Settles Bad Faith Suit Against Insurer
A personal injury firm has notified a Colorado federal court it has reached an agreement with its insurer in a coverage dispute over litigation costs from another suit against a former attorney accused of trying to lure away the firm's class action department after her departure.
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May 15, 2024
Insurer Wants Payback For Covering Theater Group Theft
An insurance company has asked a Connecticut federal court to force a married couple to pay for coverage it granted a theater education group that it says was bilked out of nearly $588,000 by the pair via personal use of the nonprofit's funds.
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May 15, 2024
No Coverage For Day Care In Toddler Death Suits, Judge Says
A Progressive unit has no duty to defend or indemnify a now-defunct day care and its former owner in two suits over the death of a toddler who was left in a hot car, a Tennessee federal court has ruled, saying the vehicle involved wasn't covered under the day care's policy.
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May 14, 2024
Insurer Wants Tainted Wine Coverage Suit Axed For Good
A Nationwide unit asked a California federal court to permanently toss a wine bottling company's suit seeking reimbursement for costs incurred in defending and settling an underlying suit claiming the bottler damaged nearly $1.2 million of wine, saying the company failed to allege facts that would trigger coverage.
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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
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 13, 2024
Justices Won't Touch Insurer's Win In 401(k) Exit Fee Suit
The U.S. Supreme Court declined Monday to hear a dental office's case accusing an insurance company of unlawfully charging fees to 401(k) plans that left its platform, leaving in place a Fifth Circuit ruling that found the insurer was under no obligation to waive the charges.
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May 10, 2024
Ariz. Judge Allows Insurer To Target DOT For Canadian Arb.
An Arizona federal judge has issued an apparently novel ruling granting a Canadian government-backed insurer's request to subpoena the state's Department of Transportation for use in an arbitration stemming from a hit-and-run accident that took place in Scottsdale, Arizona, in 2016.
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May 10, 2024
Insurers Don't Owe Chiquita Coverage In Terrorism Settlement
An Ohio state appeals court ruled Friday that Chiquita Brands International Inc. is not owed coverage by a group of insurers for a settlement with families of six Americans killed by a terrorist group Chiquita had paid for protection, saying any errors the trial court made were harmless because it came to the correct conclusion.
Expert Analysis
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Nursing Homes May See Litigation Spike After 7th Circ. Ruling
The Seventh Circuit’s recent Federal Nursing Home Reform Act ruling in Talevski v. Health and Hospital Corp. opens skilled nursing facilities to federal litigation from private plaintiffs and could require exhaustion of administrative remedies before invoking state or federal court jurisdiction, say Randall Fearnow and Edward Holloran at Quarles & Brady.
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2 Cases Will Help Shape Opioid Litigation Insurance Coverage
Upcoming decisions from the Ohio and Delaware high courts in Acuity v. Masters Pharmaceutical and Rite Aid Corp. v. ACE American Insurance, respectively, on whether insurers must defend policyholders in prescription opioid litigation filed by government entities are sure to provide precedent for resolution of these coverage issues nationwide, say Courtney Horrigan and Kateri Persinger at Reed Smith.
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Pa. Lawmakers Must Save Medical Liability Venue Rule
The Pennsylvania Legislature should stop the state's Civil Procedural Rules Committee from rolling back a rule banning medical malpractice forum shopping, to avoid a return to rampant liability claims in high-verdict courts, sky-high insurance premiums for doctors and less public access to care, says Curt Schroder at the Pennsylvania Coalition for Civil Justice Reform.
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What 9th Circ. Arbitration Case May Mean For Insurance
If the plaintiffs in CLMS Management Services v. Amwins Brokerage of Georgia appeal the Ninth Circuit's recent decision that state law does not bar the enforcement of arbitration clauses in insurance contracts, the case may have a significant effect on the different dispute resolution options for insurers and policyholders, say attorneys at Sheppard Mullin.
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Enviro Review Standard Tweaks May Clarify Cleanup Liability
Forthcoming revisions to the standard for Phase I environmental site assessments will likely afford property owners and operators clearer protection from liability for hefty environmental cleanups, so interested parties in real estate and M&A deals should pay close attention, say Lorene Boudreau at Ballard Spahr and Mitchell Wiest and Sara Redding at Roux Associates.
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Ill. BIPA Ruling May Significantly Affect Insurers' Exposure
In Tims v. Black Horse Carriers, an Illinois state appeals court held that certain claims under the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act are subject to a one-year statute of limitations only, which may reduce commercial general liability insurers’ exposure to litigation under this act for several reasons, say attorneys at Kennedys.
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Insurance Commissioner's Agenda: DC On Long-Term Care
Washington, D.C., Insurance Commissioner Karima Woods outlines the development of insurance coverage for older adults' long-term care benefits and how regulators and the industry are attempting to resolve issues with the popular product.
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Insurance Commissioner's Agenda: Del. Tackles Mental Health
Delaware Insurance Commissioner Trinidad Navarro highlights the state's efforts to achieve insurance coverage parity for mental health care by confronting systemic stigma and penalizing disparate and restrictive insurance determinations.
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Key Takeaways From The NAIC Summer National Meeting
Stephanie Duchene and Kara Baysinger at Willkie highlight what insurance practitioners should know about top industry priorities from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ recent national meeting, including climate-related risk, diversity and inclusion, and technological innovation.
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The Complex State Of Insurance In The Cannabis Business
Jan Larson and Philip Sailer at Jenner & Block outline the complex cannabis regulatory schemes perplexing courts faced with insurance coverage cases and discuss legislative solutions that could at least begin to reduce the challenges for both policyholders and insurers.
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Embracing ESG: AIG Counsel Talks SEC Risk Alert
As the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission responds to the changing landscape on environmental, social and corporate governance investing, including with its recent risk alert, it is imperative that the regulator take a measured approach, says Kate Fuentes at AIG.
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Insurance Commissioner's Agenda: Wis. Tackles Climate Risk
Wisconsin Commissioner of Insurance Mark Afable talks about educating consumers on potential climate-risk coverage gaps and mitigation efforts, and encouraging insurers to recognize the latter in underwriting, in the face of increasingly frequent and severe weather disasters.
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Insurer Considerations For Post-Pandemic Virtual Mediation
To determine whether to continue engaging in virtual mediations after the pandemic ends, insurers should weigh the format's challenges against its benefits, including decreased hostility between parties, time and cost, and increased client participation, say Jennifer Gibbs and Amanda Rodriguez at Zelle.