Property
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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
La. Strip Mall Says Insurers' Arbitration Clause Unenforceable
A New Orleans-area strip mall owner said it shouldn't be forced to arbitrate its bad faith claim against its insurers for the handling of its Hurricane Ida damage claim, telling a Louisiana federal court that the arbitration clause in its policies is unenforceable.
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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
Wash. Law Firm, Travelers Settle $136K Theft Coverage Fight
A Seattle law firm and Travelers settled their coverage dispute over an employee's nearly $136,000 worth of unauthorized charges on a credit card, the parties told a Washington federal court.
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March 13, 2024
Ala. Hotelier Says Insurer Must Cover Fire Damage
A Montgomery, Alabama, hotel owner said an insurer must cover a property-destroying fire under a $13 million policy, telling a New York federal court the insurer made "no attempt whatsoever" to meet its obligations despite the hotelier having met all conditions under the policy.
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March 12, 2024
La. Property Owners, Insurers Settle $5M Hurricane Ida Fight
Lloyd's of London and other insurers and underwriters have agreed to settle claims by a group of New Orleans-area property owners who allege the insurers wrongly denied more than $5.1 million in claims from Hurricane Ida damage after the insurers demanded the dispute be resolved in arbitration.
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March 12, 2024
Maui Wildfire Case Sent Back To Hawaii State Court
A Hawaii federal judge lobbed to state court a family's suit seeking to hold Maui County, energy utilities, telecommunication companies and others liable for property damage caused by a wildfire that left over 100 people dead, rejecting the defendants' argument this case should be removed and consolidated in federal court.
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March 12, 2024
Pa. Property Owner Knocks Insurer's Early Win Bid
A Pennsylvania property owner urged a federal court to reject its insurer's bid for a pretrial win, arguing that a vacancy provision in its policy is ambiguous and does not preclude coverage of the $5 million in damages it seeks following a warehouse break-in.
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March 11, 2024
Prejudice Rule Applies To Property Claims, Colo. Justices Say
A rule excusing some policyholders for filing late claims applies to occurrence-based, first-party homeowners' property policies, a divided Colorado Supreme Court held Monday, reversing two insurers' wins in a pair of coverage disputes over hail damage.
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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 11, 2024
Atty, Marketing Biz Knock Call To Continue Hurricane Ad Suit
A legal advertising company and an attorney are objecting to a Texas federal judge's recent decision in favor of a woman pressing class claims over legal advertising to Louisiana hurricane victims, arguing that the woman still hasn't shown concrete injury.
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March 08, 2024
State Farm Beats Spas' COVID Shutdown Suit At 4th Circ.
The Fourth Circuit sided with State Farm insurance entities Friday in tossing a coverage dispute brought by a class of spa businesses alleging they were owed under "all risk" policies after COVID shutdown orders, with the court holding that recent precedent determined similar policies dealt with physical damage, not business closings.
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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
5th Circ. Affirms Arbitration In Hurricane Coverage Feud
The Fifth Circuit has ordered the owner of a New Orleans luxury apartment and retail complex to arbitrate a dispute with its domestic surplus lines insurers over coverage for $7 million in hurricane damage, ruling that arbitration is permitted under a carveout in conflicting Louisiana state law.
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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
Texas Wildfires Strike Underinsured Agricultural Sector
A series of Texas wildfires including one estimated to be the worst in the state's history are underscoring the increasing risk of severe natural catastrophes to underinsured populations and insurance markets already under stress, experts say.
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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
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.
Expert Analysis
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The Hazards Of Female Lawyers Being 'Office Moms'
Female attorneys are frequently credited with being the "office moms" who do critical but undervalued work — from bringing birthday cakes to serving on diversity committees — but as lawyers return to offices, now is a good time for employers to rectify the gender imbalance that disadvantages women, say Ninth Circuit Judge Margaret McKeown and Fine Kaplan partner Roberta Liebenberg.
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Ransomware Case Signifies Shift In Cyber Insurers' Stance
The pleadings in a recently settled California federal court case, Boardriders v. Great American Insurance, show that cyber insurers are taking an adversarial approach to ransomware-related claims in the wake of increasing attacks, so policyholders should anticipate new policy language, claim-payment avoidance and more, say Lynda Bennett and Michael Scales at Lowenstein Sandler.
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Pa. Ruling Leaves Auto Policy Stacking Questions
Following the Pennsylvania Supreme Court's recent decision in Donovan v. State Farm, implicitly confirming the validity of a household vehicle auto policy exclusion with a proper inter-policy stacking waiver, it is unclear what the court expects insurers to do about stacking waivers, say Christopher Woodward and Allison Krupp at Marshall Dennehey.
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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.