Insurance

  • May 30, 2024

    Insurance Atty Fights For Lone Woman On Death Row In Miss.

    Attorney A. Kate Margolis lives a double life: one, in which she fights on behalf of insurance policyholders as counsel at Bradley, and another, spent trying to save convicted murderer Lisa Jo Chamberlin, the only woman on Mississippi's death row.

  • May 30, 2024

    State Farm Says Atari Seeks Windfall With IP Suit Over Ad

    State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. has urged a Texas federal judge to dismiss a copyright complaint from Atari Interactive Inc., saying the insurer did nothing wrong when it briefly used part of the 1980s arcade game Crystal Castles in a commercial to attract younger customers.

  • May 30, 2024

    Bottler Says It's Owed Defense In Wine Contamination Dispute

    A wine bottler told a California federal court its insurer must reimburse defense costs it incurred while fighting a now-settled suit seeking to hold the company liable for a $1.2 million wine contamination, arguing the lawsuit didn't specifically allege what the bottler's actions were nor the cause of contamination.

  • May 30, 2024

    Justices Revive NRA's Free Speech Claims Against NY Official

    The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Thursday that the National Rifle Association can proceed with certain claims in its lawsuit alleging that a former New York state official violated the gun rights group's free speech protections by pressuring financial institutions to cut ties with it.

  • May 29, 2024

    Fla. Medicare Companies Get Class Cert. In Suit Against USAA

    A Florida state court judge granted certification to a class of Medicare-contracted businesses suing USAA Casualty Insurance Co. over allegations the insurer withheld policy information and intentionally passed its obligation to pay automobile injury claims downstream to other companies, according to attorneys representing the group of businesses.

  • May 29, 2024

    Surety Seeks Over $2.75M In Prison Fencing Work Coverage

    A construction surety told a West Virginia federal court Wednesday that subcontractors for a prison fencing project must reimburse it for more than $2.75 million in losses it incurred while settling faulty work claims asserted by the project's general contractor.

  • May 29, 2024

    Honeywell Ends Suit Over $8.75M Bond For Army Base Work

    A Pennsylvania federal court has approved a request from Honeywell International Inc. to drop its lawsuit over an $8.75 million performance bond whose issuer allegedly balked at paying to replace a bankrupt subcontractor for a long-delayed job at the Tobyhanna Army Depot.

  • May 29, 2024

    Benefits Trade Group Urges Changes To New York PBM Regs

    A trade group representing large employers who sponsor employee benefit plans warned New York's insurance regulator that a proposal affecting pharmacy benefit managers — which act as intermediaries between pharmacies, drugmakers and insurers — will trigger litigation without changes before they're finalized to eliminate conflicts with federal benefits law.

  • May 29, 2024

    Nationwide Says Hyundai, Kia Owe $7.7M For Engine Claims

    Nearly a dozen Nationwide insurers told a California federal court Wednesday that Hyundai and Kia are on the hook for 829 engine failure and engine fire claims totaling over $7.7 million in damages resulting from alleged engine defects in certain 2011-2019 vehicle models.

  • May 29, 2024

    Dealer Faults Trucking Co. For Damage To Yacht In $1.4M Suit

    A North Carolina boat dealer is seeking a quick exit from a suit by a yacht owner seeking more than $1.4 million for damage that a yacht sustained during transport across the East Coast, arguing that the trucking company that was hauling the yacht is to blame.

  • May 29, 2024

    Wash. Panel Ends Quest Diagnostics' COVID Coverage Quest

    Quest Diagnostics' insurers don't owe the medical testing lab COVID-19-related business loss coverage, a Washington appeals court said, ruling the company failed to show that the presence of the virus resulted in physical loss or damage to its property.

  • May 29, 2024

    11th Circ. Backs Insurer's Win In Trampoline Injury Suit

    United Specialty Insurance had no duty to defend or indemnify a landscaper accused of negligently installing a trampoline that led to a child's injuries, the Eleventh Circuit affirmed, finding that the landscaper's insurance application expressly disclaimed the installation of recreational or playground equipment.

  • May 28, 2024

    $10M Policy Excludes Tobacco Group's Suit, Court Told

    An insurer told a North Carolina federal court Tuesday that it doesn't owe coverage to a tobacco growers' cooperative saddled with paying out a $100 million settlement for farmers, arguing that its $10 million policy excludes contract claims.

  • May 28, 2024

    Frontier, Ex-CEO Settle $21.8M Life Insurance Benefits Feud

    Frontier Communications and Leonard Tow, its former CEO and the top executive of a predecessor, have privately settled a feud surrounding tens of millions in split-dollar life insurance policies, with both sides asking a Connecticut state court judge to withdraw a $21.8 million prejudgment remedy order issued last month.

  • May 28, 2024

    Colo. Justices To Mull Atty Advice Defense In Securities Cases

    The Colorado Supreme Court has agreed to consider whether the advice a defendant's business attorney gave him is relevant to his state of mind in a securities fraud case, according to an order Tuesday granting the state's petition for appeal.

  • May 28, 2024

    US Property Insurers See Record Investment Income In 2023

    U.S. property and casualty insurers earned a record income of $73.9 billion from their investments in 2023, market analyst AM Best reported Tuesday, a bright spot for an industry beset by underwriting losses connected to natural disasters and high inflation.

  • May 28, 2024

    Insurers, Charter School Assoc. Dismiss Ida Damage Row

    A New Orleans-area charter school system and its insurers have agreed to dismiss their dispute over coverage for the system's Hurricane Ida damage claims, the parties told a Louisiana federal court Tuesday, saying "all claims and causes of action brought forth in the above captioned matter have been compromised."

  • May 28, 2024

    No Coverage For IT Co.'s 'Collusive' Settlement, Insurer Says

    Chubb unit ACE American Insurance Co. told a Colorado federal court it owes no coverage to an IT company found liable by a jury for making fraudulent misrepresentations and breaching its cybersecurity agreement with an investment company, arguing the parties' post-verdict settlement was merely a workaround to "create insurance coverage."

  • May 28, 2024

    Legal Lenders Can't Avoid Hurricane Ads Suit, Plaintiff Argues

    Funding companies that lent $20 million to a Texas law firm accused of using it to deceptively solicit hurricane victims can't escape liability by claiming they didn't know how attorneys were using the money or "simply because they don't have offices in the state," according to a Louisiana woman at the forefront of a putative class action.

  • May 28, 2024

    OpenText Says Excess Insurer Can't Join Merger Spat

    OpenText urged a Michigan federal court to keep an excess insurer out of a coverage dispute stemming from an underlying class action over the software company's merger with Covisint, arguing that the insurer's reasons behind wanting to intervene are speculative and unripe.

  • May 28, 2024

    Lin Wood Wants Fraud Claims Kept Out Of Defamation Trial

    Controversial attorney Lin Wood has asked a Georgia federal judge to bar his former law partners, who allege he falsely accused them of attempted extortion, from introducing evidence at an upcoming August trial related to two separate and still pending suits filed against him in Fulton County.

  • May 28, 2024

    Insurers Sue To Invalidate DOL ERISA Investment Advice Rule

    The American Council of Life Insurers and other insurance groups accused the U.S. Department of Labor's recently finalized retirement investment advice regulations of exceeding DOL authority and violating federal administrative procedure laws in the second such suit filed in Texas court.

  • May 24, 2024

    No-Show Plaintiff, 'Jackass' Atty Booted Too Fast, Court Says

    A Michigan appellate court sympathized with a trial court dealing with a no-show plaintiff and his lawyer who acted like a "jackass" — according to one appellate judge — but ruled Thursday that the trial court needed to do a better job documenting why it tossed the case instead of issuing a lesser sanction.

  • May 24, 2024

    Fla. Lab Owner Will Pay $27M To End False Billing Suit

    A Florida medical lab owner who pled guilty to charges related to accusations he billed Medicare for $53 million in unnecessary genetic cancer screening tests has agreed to pay more than $27 million to resolve three whistleblower suits over the same conduct, according to an announcement Friday from the U.S. Department of Justice.

  • May 24, 2024

    Chinese Reinsurer Seeks Exit From Reimbursement Suit

    A Chinese reinsurance company urged an Iowa federal court Friday to toss an insurer's suit seeking reimbursement for property insurance coverage claims it paid out, saying the court lacks jurisdiction because the company was not properly served.

Expert Analysis

  • Mitigating The Risk Of Post-Closing M&A Earnout Disputes

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    Today's uncertain deal environment makes a well-crafted earnout an excellent way for parties to accomplish a desired transaction that would not otherwise occur, but transacting parties also need to take key steps to avoid the risk of post-closing disputes that earnouts can present, say Chad Barton and Claire Lydiard at Holland & Knight.

  • How VA Court Change Is Affecting Insurance Disputes

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    The expansion of the Virginia Court of Appeals' jurisdiction to include review of decisions involving insurance coverage stands to significantly grow the body of related case law, likely to the benefit of policyholders, as evident in the recent decision in Bowman II v. State Farm Fire and Casualty Co., say Michael Levine and Olivia Bushman at Hunton.

  • Assessing The Future Of Colorado's Economic Loss Rule

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    The Colorado Supreme Court's decision to review a state appellate court's ruling in Mid-Century Insurance Co. v. HIVE Construction will significantly influence the future of Colorado's economic loss rule, with high stakes for the cost of doing business in the state, says David Holman at Crisham & Holman.

  • Series

    Coaching High School Wrestling Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Coaching my son’s high school wrestling team has been great fun, but it’s also demonstrated how a legal career can benefit from certain experiences, such as embracing the unknown, studying the rules and engaging with new people, says Richard Davis at Maynard Nexsen.

  • What To Know About RWI In Acquisition And Divestiture Deals

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    As a slower pace of merger activity turns underwriters toward new industries, representations and warranties insurance policies are increasingly being written for acquisition and divestiture energy deals, making it important for contracting parties to understand how the RWI underwriting process works in this new sector, say attorneys at Haynes Boone.

  • SG's Office Is Case Study To Help Close Legal Gender Gap

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    As women continue to be underrepresented in the upper echelons of the legal profession, law firms could learn from the example set by the Office of the Solicitor General, where culture and workplace policies have helped foster greater gender equality, say attorneys at Ocean Tomo.

  • SAG-AFTRA Contract Is A Landmark For AI And IP Interplay

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    SAG-AFTRA's recently ratified contract with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers introduced a framework to safeguard performers' intellectual property rights and set the stage for future discussions on how those rights interact with artificial intelligence — which should put entertainment businesses on alert for compliance, says Evynne Grover at QBE.

  • 4 Steps To Navigating Employee Dementia With Care

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    A recent Connecticut suit brought by an employee terminated after her managers could not reasonably accommodate her Alzheimer's-related dementia should prompt employers to plan how they can compassionately address older employees whose cognitive impairments affect their job performance, while also protecting the company from potential disability and age discrimination claims, says Robin Shea at Constangy.

  • Ore. Insurance Ruling Opens Door To Extracontractual Claims

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    The Oregon Supreme Court's recent Moody v. Oregon Community Credit Union decision expanding an insurer's potential liability when adjusting life insurance policies exposes insurers to extracontractual tort liability, and the boundaries of this application will likely be tested through aggressive legal action, says Tessan Wess at GRSM50.

  • Reimagining Law Firm Culture To Break The Cycle Of Burnout

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    While attorney burnout remains a perennial issue in the legal profession, shifting post-pandemic expectations mean that law firms must adapt their office cultures to retain talent, say Kevin Henderson and Eric Pacifici at SMB Law Group.

  • A Key Tool For Calif. Policyholders With Nonadmitted Insurers

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    As insurers increasingly flee California and residents of the Golden State are forced to insure their properties with nonadmitted insurers, it is crucial to understand the Unauthorized Insurers Process Act, a critical but underutilized tool for policyholders, say Keith Meyer and Kya Coletta at Reed Smith.

  • Series

    ESG Around The World: Brazil

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    Environmental, social and governance issues have increasingly translated into new legislation in Brazil since 2020, and in the wake of these recently enacted regulations, we are likely to see a growing number of legal disputes in the largest South American country related to ESG issues such as greenwashing if companies are not prepared to adequately adapt and comply, say attorneys at Mattos Filho.

  • Series

    Competing In Dressage Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    My lifelong participation in the sport of dressage — often called ballet on horses — has proven that several skills developed through training and competition are transferable to legal work, especially the ability to harness focus, persistence and versatility when negotiating a deal, says Stephanie Coco at V&E.

  • Employer Lessons From Nixed Calif. Arbitration Agreement

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    A California state appeals court’s recent decision to throw out an otherwise valid arbitration agreement, where an employee claimed a confusing electronic signature system led her to agree to unfair terms, should alert employers to scrutinize any waivers or signing procedures that may appear to unconscionably favor the company, say Guillermo Tello and Monique Eginli at Clark Hill.

  • Legal Issues Loom For Driverless Trucking

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    Companies' recent experiments with driverless trucking technology herald a transformation of the logistics sector — but stakeholders must reckon with increasing regulatory scrutiny, emerging liability issues, and concerns around ethical guidelines, insurance and standardization, say Zal Phiroz at Pier Consulting Group and Nicolas Bezada at Unishippers.

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