Specialty Lines
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March 16, 2024
Up Next At High Court: Gov't Jawboning & Retaliatory Arrests
The U.S. Supreme Court has a packed oral arguments calendar this week that includes disputes over the Biden administration's work with social media companies to combat misinformation, the appropriate evidence standard for bringing retaliatory arrest claims and whether the federal government can object to a consent decree entered into by three states.
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March 14, 2024
Lehman Brothers Can't Undo Trial Loss Over Crisis-Era CDS
A New York appeals court on Thursday affirmed a bench trial loss Lehman Brothers' bankrupt European unit suffered last year in a suit attempting to claw back nearly half a billion dollars from Assured Guaranty over losses on credit default swaps tied to the 2008 financial crisis.
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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
PNC Bank Can't Get $106M Judgment Covered By Insurers
PNC Bank NA is not entitled to coverage by a group of excess insurers for a $106 million judgment it incurred in an underlying lawsuit alleging the bank's predecessor mismanaged funeral trust accounts, a Pennsylvania federal judge ruled Wednesday, saying the policies' exclusions bar coverage in this case.
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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
Health Plan Provider's Settlement Notice Costs Not Covered
An insurer has no duty to indemnify a health insurance provider for notice costs incurred in a class action over denied medical benefits, a Montana federal court ruled, finding that the costs do not constitute "claim expenses" under the provider's errors and omissions policy.
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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
Urologist Seeks Coverage For Defective Penile Implants Suit
A urologist's medical device company told a California federal court that two insurers must cover it, the doctor and his practice in an underlying class action alleging that a silicone implant invented for penile enlargement, and the procedure that went with it, left patients with permanent damage.
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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
Trump Staves Off $83M Carroll Award With $91M Chubb Bond
Chubb has written Donald Trump a $91.6 million bond so the former president can avoid paying writer E. Jean Carroll $83 million while he appeals a Manhattan federal jury's defamation verdict, according to Friday court filings.
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March 08, 2024
Coverage Capped At $300K In Crash Suit, 4th Circ. Told
An insurer urged the Fourth Circuit to uphold a lower court's ruling restricting a couple's underinsured motorist coverage to $300,000 following a wreck, arguing that the policy's language prevails over a North Carolina statute and, as such, its payout is offset by three primary insurers' contributions.
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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
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.
Expert Analysis
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Questions Following 2 Recent Cyber Insurance Developments
A Minnesota federal court's recent decision in Target v. ACE and guidance from the New York State Department of Financial Services have furthered confusion surrounding how insurance policy language should be applied to the unique circumstances of cyber incidents, say Huiyi Chen and David Kroeger at Jenner & Block.
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When Mergers Create D&O Insurance Complications
A Delaware state court's recent decision in Northrop Grumman v. Zurich illustrates some of the pitfalls and disputes that commonly arise when companies with competing directors and officers insurance policies merge, says Sam Ballingrud at Sherman & Howard.
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How Biden's Administration Will Affect The Insurance Industry
President Joe Biden's administration has signaled interest in a range of key issues — consumer protections, regulation of the cannabis industry and health care reform — that will have outsize influence on the private insurance market, say Adrian Azer and Wes Dutton at Haynes and Boone.
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An OFAC Compliance Checklist For Ransomware Payments
As the U.S. government heightens its scrutiny of ransomware payments, victims that pay extortion demands can follow 12 steps to help establish the requisite mitigation and due diligence to avoid penalties from the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control, says cybersecurity consultant John Reed Stark.
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Cybersecurity Event-Driven Securities Litigation Has Arrived
A recent shareholder lawsuit against First American Title Insurance Co. highlights that securities litigation prompted by regulatory actions may become increasingly prevalent in the cybersecurity context, say attorneys at Pasich.
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Limiting The Severity Of Deficient Securities Fraud Claims
The U.S. Supreme Court's evidentiary requirements of price impact at the class certification stage — established in its Halliburton II decision in 2014 — provide an effective solution to disqualify securities fraud claims with price impact deficiencies, say Nessim Mezrahi and Stephen Sigrist at SAR.
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The Most-Read Securities Law360 Guests Of 2020
The most-read securities articles written by Law360 guest experts in 2020 centered around market volatility triggered by COVID-19; remote testimony considerations as courtroom proceedings moved online; and risk and compliance issues related to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act.
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A Look At Contrasting Rules For Excess Insurance Policies
Though the Delaware Superior Court held in Pfizer v. U.S. Specialty Insurance that claims settlements exceeding primary policy limits trigger excess insurance, policyholders should continue to pay close attention to exhaustion clause language due to competing court rules nationwide, say Brian Scarbrough and Deepthika Appuhamy at Jenner & Block.
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Del. Solera D&O Decision May Have Limited Impact
While the Delaware Supreme Court's recent decision in Solera is a blow for companies in the state seeking protection for certain key appraisal proceedings, the ruling hinges on the insurers' narrow definition of a violation that will trigger directors and officers coverage for securities-related claims, making it unlikely that other jurisdictions will follow suit, say attorneys at Hunton.
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Treasury Stance On Ransomware Payment Could Hurt Targets
Recent statements from two U.S. Department of the Treasury offices indicate that paying off ransomware with cryptocurrency may trigger certain registration requirements and U.S. sanctions scrutiny, placing a significant regulatory burden on cybervictims and their incident response consultants, say attorneys at McDermott.
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OFAC Cyber Ransom Guidance Has Insurance Implications
A new advisory from the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control will likely cause delay in insurance coverage determinations for ransom payments, but there are steps policyholders can take to secure coverage for restoration costs when a ransom is not paid, say attorneys at Hunton.
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How To Navigate A Hardening D&O Insurance Market
The directors and officers liability insurance market's shift toward favoring sellers, coupled with the potential surge of lawsuits against companies as a result of COVID-19's economic impact, increases the importance of mitigating risks by reexamining existing D&O coverage, say attorneys at Jenner & Block.
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When Do Insureds' Legal Fees Constitute Defense Expenses?
An Oklahoma federal court's surprising decision in Turner v. XL Specialty Insurance — now on appeal before the Tenth Circuit — found that a named defendant's legal costs did not qualify as defense expenses, highlighting ambiguities in how "defense" is defined for insurance purposes, say David Kroeger and Catherine Doyle at Jenner & Block.