Specialty Lines

  • July 18, 2025

    Law360 Names 2025's Top Attorneys Under 40

    Law360 is pleased to announce the Rising Stars of 2025, our list of more than 150 attorneys under 40 whose legal accomplishments belie their age.

  • July 17, 2025

    Top Legal Developments That Could Impact LA Fire Aftermath

    While the full consequences of a series of devastating wildfires that struck Los Angeles in January are still becoming clear, insurance experts and attorneys have pointed to a series of lawsuits and decisions as having important implications for the city's recovery.

  • July 17, 2025

    Insurance Litigation Week In Review

    Florida's insurer of last resort was hit with a lawsuit over its use of arbitration, an insurer sought to limit its coverage exposure for 175 silica injury lawsuits to a single policy and the Ninth Circuit issued a no-coverage ruling concerning a $58.5 million judgment over mishandled bodily remains. Here, Law360 takes a look at the past week's top insurance news.

  • July 17, 2025

    Insurer Says Pollution Exclusion Applies To Asbestos Suits

    A Berkshire Hathaway unit said it doesn't owe coverage to a paint and drywall product manufacturer in a number of asbestos exposure suits, telling a Texas federal court Thursday that coverage is barred by a pollution exclusion in its umbrella and excess policies.

  • July 17, 2025

    Mass Deportations Could Raise Insurance Costs, Profs Say

    The Trump administration's mass deportation program could increase costs for insurance carriers and homeowners by reducing the number of undocumented immigrants so critical to the construction industry, business and insurance professors say.

  • July 17, 2025

    Oil Cos. Not Covered In Gas Exposure Suit, Markel Unit Says

    A Markel unit has no duty to defend or indemnify oil and gas companies in a suit over a worker's exposure to toxic hydrogen sulfide gas, it told a Texas federal court, saying the underlying suit did not allege an occurrence.

  • July 17, 2025

    5th Circ. Affirms Nix Of Doctor's Captive Insurance Deductions

    The owner of a Texas urgent care network is not entitled to $1 million in tax deductions for insurance premiums he paid to inside companies, the Fifth Circuit ruled, affirming the U.S. Tax Court's decision that the payments were not actually for insurance.

  • July 16, 2025

    Bojangles Insurer Must Cover Settled Rape Suit, Court Rules

    A Bojangles franchisee's insurer had a duty to cover it in a now-settled civil lawsuit alleging that a manager at one of the franchisee's locations raped an employee who was a minor, a Georgia federal court ruled Wednesday, finding that one of two coverage forms at issue was triggered.

  • July 15, 2025

    Medicaid Cuts Pose 'Frontal Assault,' Penn Law Prof Says

    Allison K. Hoffman, a health insurance regulation expert at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School, talks about the wide-ranging impacts of the cuts coming to Medicaid funding.

  • July 15, 2025

    These Firms Worked On The Top First-Half Real Estate Deals

    A&O Shearman and Stibbe are among the more than 20 law firms that scored work on the 10 largest global real estate mergers and acquisitions of the first half, a period that saw three transactions above $4 billion.

  • July 14, 2025

    Insurer Seeks $1M Coverage Cap Over 175 Silica Suits

    An insurer for a manufacturer of countertops told a New York federal court that only one primary environmental liability policy it issued applies to roughly 175 lawsuits seeking damages for exposure to silica, pointing to "deemer provisions" relating to coverage for "progressive or indivisible" bodily injury.

  • July 11, 2025

    7th Circ. Affirms End To Vandalism Dispute Over Key Records

    The Seventh Circuit upheld discovery sanctions against an Indianapolis hotel owner after an Indiana federal court found it repeatedly failed to hand over records relating to whether the property was deemed "vacant" per the terms of its property insurance policy with a Liberty Mutual unit.

  • July 11, 2025

    Coverage For RV Dealer's $1.2M Fraud Loss Limited To $100K

    A Texas federal court tossed an RV dealer's suit seeking to recover more than $1 million it lost after transferring funds to a fraudster posing as a general contractor, saying the dealer's insurer already paid the maximum amount owed under the policy's deception fraud provision.

  • July 10, 2025

    Specialty Line Insurance Cases To Note: 2025 Midyear Report

    The first half of the year has already delivered a series of high-profile decisions giving specialty line insurance practitioners clarity on some of the hottest coverage dispute issues and even a preview of their ripple effects. Here, Law360 reviews some of the top specialty line insurance decisions from the first half of 2025.

  • July 10, 2025

    Top General Liability Rulings From The First Half Of 2025

    Federal courts have handed down big wins for insurers, finding that they needn't cover claims related to a Home Depot data breach and opioid litigation brought against Publix, as well as issuing rulings favoring carriers in disputes over so-called ghost guns and PFAS-related litigation. Here, Law360 breaks down the top commercial general liability rulings from the first half of 2025.

  • July 10, 2025

    Texas Floods Highlight Risk Of Climate Cuts, Low Coverage

    A series of deadly floods in Texas Hill Country over the July 4 weekend underscore the danger of rollbacks and threats to federal programs for disaster relief and climate monitoring, while also showing the need for greater flood coverage uptake to avoid longer-term economic challenges. 

  • July 10, 2025

    Insurer Wants Out Of Horse Co.'s $3.2M Theft Coverage Fight

    An insurer for an equestrian and his company that faced theft claims urged a Florida federal court to toss a coverage action from the underlying plaintiff, arguing it lacks standing to claim the insurer wasted policy benefits while defending insureds and left nothing for an eventual $3.2 million settlement.

  • July 10, 2025

    6th Circ. Denies Ohio Dentist's Life Insurance Tax Deductions

    An Ohio dentist cannot deduct his life insurance premiums that he intended to potentially donate to a zoo, the Sixth Circuit ruled, saying the arrangement was taxable under 2003 regulations governing policies that involve two parties sharing the cost and benefit of insurance.

  • July 10, 2025

    Insurance Litigation Week In Review

    Michigan's top court found that claims over personal injury protection coverage can be revived after they are transferred to third parties, the Eighth Circuit relieved a Chubb insurer from having to split an underlying $2 million settlement and the Fourth Circuit revived a South Carolina builder's condo repair coverage dispute. Here, Law360 takes a look at the past week's top insurance news.

  • July 08, 2025

    Exclusion's Use Of 'The' Supports Alt. Reading, 5th Circ. Says

    The Fifth Circuit said an exclusion barring coverage for intellectual property infringement claims didn't necessarily relieve an insurer from covering defense expenses an oil and gas company incurred in an IP theft lawsuit, finding the exclusion's use of "the" led to a pro-coverage, reasonable meaning.

  • July 07, 2025

    Hartford Says No Coverage For General Store's GIPA Row

    A Hartford unit told an Illinois federal court that it does not owe a general store coverage for claims that the company violated the state's genetic information privacy law by conditioning employment on disclosing genetic information.

  • July 03, 2025

    Plumbing Co. Seeks $25M In Coverage For ERISA Claims

    A plumbing subcontractor told a California federal court that its primary insurer was improperly limiting its coverage in an employee stock ownership plan dispute, hindering its ability to tap into its full $25 million tower of management liability coverage.

  • July 03, 2025

    The Firms That Won Big At The Supreme Court

    The number of law firms juggling three or more arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court this past term nearly doubled from the number of firms that could make that claim last term.

  • July 03, 2025

    Breaking Down The Vote: The High Court Term In Review

    The U.S. Supreme Court once again waited until the term's closing weeks — and even hours — to issue some of its most anticipated and divided decisions.

  • July 02, 2025

    State Farm Investigation In Calif. Spotlights Adjuster Issues

    A California regulatory investigation into State Farm's California subsidiary is spotlighting common issues in the insurance recovery process following major disasters, but experts also say that the insurer's high level of exposure opened it up to more consumer scrutiny.

Expert Analysis

  • Insurance Considerations For Cos. That May Face Strikes

    Author Photo

    The recent surge in major work stoppages in the U.S. highlights the growing importance of strike preparedness for businesses, which includes understanding strike insurance coverage options, say Chris D’Amour and Brooke Duncan at Adams and Reese.

  • Challenges Of Insuring An NIL Collective

    Author Photo

    Sarah Abrams at Baleen Specialty examines the emergence of name, image and likeness collectives for student-athletes, the current litigation landscape that has created a favorable environment for these organizations, and considerations for director and officer insurers looking to underwrite NIL collectives.

  • An Update On Legal Issues In The Drone Market

    Author Photo

    Marialuisa Gallozzi and Alex Slawson at Covington examine recent developments in the legal issues surrounding the growing drone market, including possible First Amendment protections, Fourth Amendment surveillance, and litigation involving criminal and civil penalties, evidentiary pursuits, and insurance.

  • Key Insurance Implications Of Hawaii's Historic GHG Ruling

    Author Photo

    In Aloha Petroleum v. National Union Fire Insurance, the Hawaii Supreme Court became the first state court to classify greenhouse gasses as pollutants barred from insurance coverage, a ruling likely to be afforded great weight by courts across the country, say Scott Seaman and Gar Lauerman at Hinshaw & Culbertson.

  • Use The Right Kind Of Feedback To Help Gen Z Attorneys

    Author Photo

    Generation Z associates bring unique perspectives and expectations to the workplace, so it’s imperative that supervising attorneys adapt their feedback approach in order to help young lawyers learn and grow — which is good for law firms, too, says Rachael Bosch at Fringe Professional Development.

  • Congress Can And Must Enact A Supreme Court Ethics Code

    Author Photo

    As public confidence in the U.S. Supreme Court dips to historic lows following reports raising conflict of interest concerns, Congress must exercise its constitutional power to enact a mandatory and enforceable code of ethics for the high court, says Muhammad Faridi, president of the New York City Bar Association.

  • State Of The States' AI Legal Ethics Landscape

    Author Photo

    Over the past year, several state bar associations, as well as the American Bar Association, have released guidance on the ethical use of artificial intelligence in legal practice, all of which share overarching themes and some nuanced differences, say Eric Pacifici and Kevin Henderson at SMB Law Group.

  • Insurance Likely Kept Swift Out Of The Woods After Vienna

    Author Photo

    Financial losses Taylor Swift incurred from the cancellation of three concerts in Vienna in August will likely be covered by insurance policies, considering how the facts of the situation differ from those of the Foo Fighters' 2015 insurance dispute over event cancellation and terrorism coverage, say attorneys at Anderson Kill.

  • Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: September Lessons

    Author Photo

    In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy identifies practice tips from four recent class certification rulings involving denial of Medicare reimbursements, automobile insurance disputes, veterans' rights and automobile defects.

  • 3 Coverage Tips As 2nd Circ. 'Swipes Left' On Tinder Claim

    Author Photo

    The Second Circuit's recent opinion in Match Group v. Beazley Underwriting, overturning Tinder's victory on its insurer's motion to dismiss a coverage action, reinforces three best practices policyholders purchasing claims-made coverage should adhere to in order to avoid late-notice defenses, say Lynda Bennett and Alexander Corson at Lowenstein Sandler.

  • What To Know About Insurance Coverage For Antitrust Risks

    Author Photo

    With all the regulatory activity surrounding antitrust and unfair competition claims, as highlighted by last month's D.C. federal court decision that Google is a monopolist, businesses must not only ensure compliance, but also understand their potential insurance coverage when such claims arise, says Micah Skidmore at Haynes Boone.

  • Finding Coverage For Online Retail Privacy Class Actions

    Author Photo

    Following recent court rulings interpreting state invasion of privacy and electronic surveillance statutes triggering a surge in the filing of privacy class actions against online retailers, companies should examine their various insurance policies, including E&O and D&O, for defense coverage of these claims, says Alison Gaske at Gilbert LLP.

  • What We Know From Early Cyberinsurance Rulings

    Author Photo

    Recent cyber disruption incidents, like the Crowdstrike outage and the CDK Global cyberattack this summer, highlight the necessity of understanding legal interpretations of cyberinsurance coverage — an area in which there has been little litigation thus far, say Peter Halprin and Rebecca Schwarz at Haynes Boone.