Property
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January 31, 2024
$17.5M Hail Claim Mostly Not Covered, Insurer Says
A storage company's insurer told a Texas federal court that much of the nearly $17.5 million in hail damage the company said it suffered wasn't actually caused by hail, adding that it refused to allow a construction consultant to inspect its property "despite multiple requests."
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January 31, 2024
Lab Says $7M Stolen Data Is Property And Should Be Covered
A national medical testing lab told a Pennsylvania federal court that patient treatment records and at least $7 million of billing data allegedly hijacked by its software contractor was property and should therefore be covered by its insurer.
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January 31, 2024
Fla. Restaurants Say Ian Deductible Was $400K Too High
A Florida restaurant owner told a federal court Wednesday that its insurer charged too high of a deductible for coverage for damages from Hurricane Ian, alleging that the insurer needs to pay it back more than $400,000 of the $1 million paid to account for the correct deductible amount.
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January 31, 2024
No Fee Win For Condos After Midcase Appeal, 11th Circ. Told
The Eleventh Circuit should not grant attorney fees to two Florida condominium associations that persuaded the court to reject Empire Indemnity Insurance's bid to avoid appraisal, the insurer told the court, arguing their victory over the insurer's appeal doesn't entitle them to recover those costs.
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January 31, 2024
Liberty Mutual Units Must Help Cover Warehouse, Court Told
The insurer for a furniture retailer told a California federal court that it doesn't owe coverage to a warehouse owner in underlying bodily injury litigation, saying it was relieved of its defense duties by a lease termination agreement.
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January 30, 2024
Insurer Ordered To Pay Casino $55K In Attorney Fees
An insurer must pay a Las Vegas casino and resort more than $55,000 in attorney fees after a Nevada federal judge sanctioned the carrier in September, ruling that the insurer failed to produce relevant portions of its claims manual during a COVID-19 coverage dispute.
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January 30, 2024
Tenn. Judge Hands Insurer Win In Collapse Coverage Trial
A North Carolina-based insurance company isn't obligated to cover over $1 million in claimed damages and lost rental income connected to the restoration of a century-old building in Chattanooga, a Tennessee federal judge found in a trial ruling Tuesday.
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January 30, 2024
Pipeline Builder Says Insurer Owes Defense In Explosion Suit
A pipeline construction company told a Texas federal court Tuesday that a subcontractor's insurer must defend the company in a personal injury suit stemming from a nitrogen gas explosion, asserting that it qualifies as an additional insured.
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January 30, 2024
Colo. Pizzeria Says Insurer Owes More Fire Coverage
A Colorado pizzeria that was damaged by a fire in 2021 told a Colorado federal court its insurer still owes coverage for business losses and other expenses, arguing that the insurer is in part to blame for the restaurant being unable to complete its restorations required by its policy.
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January 30, 2024
Fennemore Craig Growing In Calif. With Sullivan Hill Merger
In its latest West Coast expansion, Fennemore Craig PC announced Tuesday it is widening its footprint in San Diego through a merger with Sullivan Hill, with the latter's experts in insurance, construction, commercial bankruptcy and employment law joining Fennemore's existing four-attorney team in the city.
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January 29, 2024
Insurer's Counterclaim Tossed From $7M Elevator Verdict Row
An insurer has no grounds to pursue a counterclaim against excess insurer Great American Insurance Co. in a dispute with an elevator maintenance company over a $7.3 million negligence verdict, a Florida federal judge ruled Monday.
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January 29, 2024
Increase In Trafficking Reveals Hospitality Coverage Concerns
As human trafficking continues to increase and travel returns to prepandemic levels, hospitality industry policyholders may see more direct trafficking exclusions and increased education requirements as the insurance industry works to address this growing risk, experts said.
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January 29, 2024
Pollution Exclusion Applies In Oil Well Row, Underwriters Say
Underwriters for a now-defunct oil services company told a Texas federal court they should not pay a $10.6 million underlying judgment to two companies over drainage losses to their oil wells, because the defunct company's policy excluded pollution and waste claims.
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January 29, 2024
Escrow Agent Not Covered For Fraud Suits, Court Told
An escrow agent no longer has coverage for four underlying suits accusing it of unlawfully withholding funds or distributing them to third parties who had no valid claim to the money, an insurer told a Florida federal court, saying its theft coverage extension endorsement has been exhausted.
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January 29, 2024
Fla. Law Firm Escapes Contractor's Malpractice Suit
A Florida federal judge has agreed to toss a storm damage contractor's more than $1 million lawsuit centering on an acrimonious breakup with its former law firm, but allowed the contractor a chance at refiling its legal malpractice claims.
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January 26, 2024
Nelson Mullins' Rates Spark Coverage Spat Over Builder's Suit
An insurance policy battle between an exterior building product manufacturer and its insurer over who should pay for a law firm's services in a separate lawsuit spilled into Ohio federal court this week after the insurer removed the company's case from state court to the federal arena.
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January 26, 2024
School Says Security Insurer Failed To Cover Stabbing Row
A security company's insurer failed to provide coverage to a school for behavioral problems in an underlying suit alleging a student was stabbed and bullied in the gym due to the school's negligence and tolerance of violence, according to a suit removed to D.C. federal court.
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January 26, 2024
Auto Biz Says Insurer Can't Escape $500K Damage Claims
A vehicle lift installer urged a Minnesota federal court to preserve its counterclaims in a coverage dispute over nearly $500,000 in claims stemming from fire damage and a tipped container, arguing that its insurer constructively denied most of the claim by repeating investigations and denying payments for over a year.
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January 26, 2024
Insurer Denied Early Win In Landlord's Hurricane Damage Suit
An insurer wasn't able to beat a suburban New Orleans commercial property owner's Louisiana federal case over more than $220,000 in 2021 Hurricane Ida damage, but did succeed in limiting testimony.
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January 26, 2024
Texas Motel Says Insurer Fell $750K Short On Storm Damage
AIG unit Lexington Insurance Co. underpaid for storm damage to a Texas Econo Lodge Inn & Suites, offering only a sum more than $750,000 smaller than the company's own repair estimate, the motel's owner told a federal court.
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February 08, 2024
Law360 Seeks Members For Its 2024 Editorial Boards
Law360 is looking for avid readers of its publications to serve as members of its 2024 editorial advisory boards.
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January 26, 2024
State Farm Underpaid Miss. Property Losses, Class Suit Says
A Mississippi homeowner accused State Farm Fire and Casualty in federal court of intentionally underpaying her fire damage claim by using the wrong setting in its pricing software, treating the repairs as new construction and improperly excluding higher labor costs associated with more complicated fixes.
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January 25, 2024
Excess Insurers Win In Construction Defect Coverage Suit
A residential developer wrongly tapped into certain excess insurance, a California federal judge ruled Thursday, finding that the $3.2 million its primary insurer spent on defense costs in underlying construction defect litigation didn't count toward triggering a $10 million excess policy.
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January 25, 2024
Insurer Says Contractor Not Covered In Oil Refinery Fire Suits
A petrochemical contractor is not entitled to coverage for a number of suits over an incident at an Arkansas oil refinery in which a hazardous substance was released and caught fire, an excess insurer told a Texas federal court Thursday, saying the contractor's two-year delay in providing notice bars coverage.
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January 25, 2024
La. Auto Dealer, Insurer Settle $1.2M Ida Coverage Row
A car dealer agreed to permanently end its bid for more than $1.2 million in Hurricane Ida-related coverage from its insurers, telling a Louisiana federal court that it had reached a settlement with its insurers.
Expert Analysis
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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.
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After Ida, A Look At Sandy's Flood Insurance Lessons
The flood insurance experience gained in connection with Superstorm Sandy can offer valuable lessons to those that have suffered a flood loss from the recent Hurricane Ida, and can guide others before and after the next storm, say Lee Epstein and Matthew Goldstein at Flaster Greenberg.
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Federal Courts Make 2 Basic Errors In Virus Coverage Rulings
Many federal courts deciding dispositive motions in COVID-19 business interruption coverage cases are neglecting fundamental precepts of civil procedure by acting as fact-finders or failing to defer to forum state decisions, say attorneys at Hunton.
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Lifting The Veil On The Supreme Court's Shadow Docket
Following headline-making U.S. Supreme Court emergency orders on Texas’ new abortion law, COVID-19 restrictions and more, Vetan Kapoor, counsel to Senate Judiciary Committee ranking member Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, examines the court's so-called shadow docket and its decision-making procedures, including questions around transparency, timing and precedential effect.
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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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Embracing ESG: United Natural Foods GC Talks Bottom Line
In prioritizing environmental, social and governance initiatives as strategic value drivers, corporate general counsel can leverage meaningful ESG progress to benefit both the business's bottom line and the wider world, says Jill Sutton at United Natural Foods.
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Ruling Rightly Sends COVID Biz Interruption Question To Jury
After a string of insurer coronavirus coverage wins on dispositive motions, a Missouri federal court's ruling this week in favor of the policyholder in K.C. Hopps v. Cincinnati Insurance places the decision-making responsibility about the facts and science in COVID-19 business interruption cases back where it belongs — with a jury, say attorneys at Pillsbury.