General Liability
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December 08, 2023
Contractor Asks Court To Tweak Quantico Construction Order
A contractor asked a Virginia federal court to modify a proposed order that would grant default judgment against a third-party construction company in a coverage dispute over defective concrete work at a U.S. Navy school, saying added language was needed to prevent roadblocks in ongoing claims against other insurers.
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December 08, 2023
State Farm Must Pay For Man's Care During Rate Cap Dispute
A Michigan appellate panel refused to let State Farm reduce payments just yet for a quadriplegic man's healthcare in light of an amended Michigan law, ruling that a change in coverage could put the patient's life at risk.
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December 08, 2023
Wrong Remedy Sought By Carrier In Sandy Suit, Insurer Says
A subcontractor's insurer fought carrier Affiliated FM's efforts Friday to escape the insurer's lawsuit seeking to avoid covering a contractor in an underlying suit Affiliated brought to recover $4.5 million it paid a landlord for Superstorm Sandy damages, saying the carrier is pursuing an improper legal remedy.
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December 08, 2023
Nationwide Unit Loses Bid For Early Win Over Fatal Shooting
A Nationwide unit must still litigate coverage issues with a roadside assistance company over claims that its owner fatally shot a man after mistakenly arriving at the wrong property, a Georgia federal court ruled, finding that the owner's intent is a key disputed fact preventing a coverage determination.
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December 08, 2023
Costco, Liberty Mutual Settle Slip-And-Fall Coverage Row
Costco and a Liberty Mutual unit have agreed to settle their dispute over coverage for an underlying slip-and-fall suit, resolving the retail giant's bid to have the insurer reimburse its defense and settlement costs.
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December 07, 2023
Insurer's Abuse Coverage Fight Won't Be Dismissed Or Stayed
A Virginia federal judge won't dismiss or stay a dispute by an insurer seeking a declaration that it doesn't owe coverage to two organizations whose founder allegedly abused a 14-year-old girl in the 1990s, saying the questions in this case don't overlap or interfere with the underlying state court suit.
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December 07, 2023
Battery Cos. Seek Coverage Of EPA's $700K Cleanup Costs
A battery reseller and its recycling counterpart told a Georgia federal court their insurer is wrongfully withholding reimbursement for over $700,000 in repair costs the companies owed to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency after a federal superfund was tapped into to address a two-week-long fire.
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December 07, 2023
Claims Admin Axed From Pipe Cos.' $3M Cargo Coverage Row
A California federal court permanently tossed a third-party claims administrator from a steel pipe importer and distributor's suit seeking $3 million under a policy that covers cargo lost or damaged in transit from South Korea, leaving only the importer's insurer in the dispute.
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December 07, 2023
Water Co. Not Covered For Contamination Suit, Insurer Says
A Texas water supply company isn't owed coverage for an underlying action alleging it provided contaminated water to residents, an AmeriTrust unit told a federal court, arguing that the company's prior knowledge of the issue and multiple policy exclusions pertaining to pollution and bacteria bar coverage.
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December 07, 2023
Insurer Doesn't Owe Trucking Co. For Worker's Injury Suit
A trucking company's insurer doesn't owe it defense or indemnity coverage for an employee's personal injury suit, a Texas federal judge ruled, agreeing with the insurer that several policy exclusions bar coverage for employee suits over accidents at work.
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December 07, 2023
Fencer Can't Toss Insurer's Sex Abuse Coverage Suit
A former fencing student and her parents can't toss an Everest Re unit's suit over coverage for the owner of a shuttered fencing gym in an underlying sexual abuse suit brought by the student, a Tennessee federal court ruled, saying it clearly has subject matter jurisdiction over the dispute.
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December 06, 2023
O'Connor's Measured Approach Visible In Insurance Cases
The late Justice Sandra Day O'Connor's evenhanded judicial approach hardly wavered when considering insurance cases despite their relative rarity before the high court, with her thoughtfulness shining through on issues ranging from insurance for deposits to gender-based pension plans and states' taxation of insurers.
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December 06, 2023
Kidde-Fenwal Insurers Try Curbing Creditors In Coverage Suit
A group of over 30 insurers for Kidde-Fenwal asked a Delaware bankruptcy judge this week to limit the involvement of the fire suppression product maker's creditors in a dispute between the company and the insurers regarding whether they are required to protect the insured against personal injury claims stemming from its firefighting foam.
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December 06, 2023
Mich. Top Court Seeks Clear Test For Biker's Crash Coverage
Michigan Supreme Court justices wrestled Wednesday with how involved a car needs to be in a motorcyclist's crash to trigger car insurance coverage, with the justices seemingly struggling with both sides' arguments for tests that could be applied to future crash scenarios.
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December 06, 2023
Tory Burch Stores Not Damaged By COVID, NJ Panel Says
A New Jersey appeals court dealt another blow Wednesday to Tory Burch LLC's pandemic coverage bid, agreeing with a lower court's ruling that the fashion retailer cannot argue that loss of revenue due to pandemic shutdowns counts as property damage or loss.
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December 06, 2023
National Park Roadwork Disputes Not Covered, Insurer Says
An Argo Group unit asked a Colorado federal court to declare it doesn't owe any coverage to a construction company for suits brought by its subcontractors over roadwork at a national park, arguing that the claims don't concern any property damage other than the company's own defective work.
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December 06, 2023
3rd Circ. Backs Travelers' Win In $5.6M Cost-Sharing Dispute
The Third Circuit upheld Travelers' win in another insurer's suit seeking defense and settlement costs incurred in a $5.6 million trade secrets suit, ruling that their mutual insured's conduct falls within a professional services exclusion in the Travelers policy.
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December 05, 2023
Insurer Sues HVAC Co. For $1M Over Falling Death Settlement
An Iowa-based insurer of a Texas general contractor told a Texas federal judge that a heating, ventilation and air conditioning subcontractor owes it $1 million to cover its payments toward a settlement in a wrongful death lawsuit.
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December 05, 2023
Geico Gets Preliminary Approval For $5.1M Ga. Settlement
A Georgia federal judge gave preliminary approval Tuesday to a $5.1 million class action settlement between Geico and its policyholders over allegations the insurer undercompensated owners of totaled vehicles by miscalculating applicable tax under Georgia law.
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December 05, 2023
Conn. Panel Affirms Insurer's Win In Crash Coverage Dispute
A Liberty Mutual unit has no duty to defend or indemnify a couple in a suit over injuries that a man sustained in a drunk driving crash involving the couple's minor child, a Connecticut appeals court affirmed Tuesday, saying a motor vehicle exclusion in their homeowners policy bars coverage.
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December 05, 2023
8th Circ. Reverses Bridge Collapse Coverage Ruling
The Eighth Circuit reversed a decision Tuesday that a Liberty Mutual unit owed coverage as a matter of law to an engineering firm for an underlying action over a bridge collapse that injured several construction workers and resulted in a $2.5 million settlement.
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December 05, 2023
Travelers Says No Coverage In Ericsson Terrorist Bribery Suit
Travelers told a Texas federal court Tuesday it should have no duty to defend or indemnify Swedish telecommunications giant Ericsson Inc. over claims that it engaged in a "global bribery scheme" with foreign terrorist organizations like al-Qaeda and ISIS to protect its business interests in the Middle East.
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December 05, 2023
Insurers Say Power Supply Co. Owes $18.7M Over Explosion
Insurers for an industrial company told an Ohio federal court that the company that installed their insured's power supply units must foot the bill for an $18.7 million "catastrophic explosion" at the insured's Alabama manufacturing facility, arguing that the power supply company's botched inspection led to the explosion.
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December 04, 2023
9th Circ. Ponders Texas Law In Salesforce Sex Trafficking Suit
The Ninth Circuit appeared poised during oral arguments Monday to side with Salesforce in its coverage dispute with Travelers over underlying sex trafficking claims, questioning whether an insurer's duty to defend is triggered if its insured did not foresee the potential consequences of its allegedly intentional misconduct.
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December 04, 2023
SD Justices Uphold Insurer's Win Over Contaminated Wheat
The South Dakota Supreme Court unanimously affirmed a win for State Farm in a dispute over coverage for the delivery of wheat contaminated with fertilizer, finding a pollution exclusion in an automobile policy relieved the insurer of responsibility.

2nd Circ. Presses Insurer On Late Jurisdiction Challenge
A Second Circuit panel needled a captive insurer Friday over why it only brought a jurisdictional challenge after an early loss in a coverage dispute with New York City, even as it considered how courts might be restricted in their ability to punish such behavior.

Lodge Asks 11th Circ. To Save Insurance Claims Over Slaying
A Florida lodge that was hit with a $3.3 million judgment for a fatal shooting in its parking lot urged the Eleventh Circuit to revive its bad faith claims against Kinsale Insurance Co.

Del. Justices Ponder If Atty's Letter Was A Claim For Damages
The Delaware Supreme Court wrestled with what exactly constitutes a "claim for damages" during oral arguments Wednesday in a dispute between Zurich Insurance Group units and herbicide manufacturer Syngenta, over whether an attorney's presuit letter claiming Syngenta's herbicide Paraquat caused his clients' Parkinson's disease qualifies.
Expert Analysis
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Insurance Considerations For Cos. Assessing New AI Risks
Because no two businesses will have the same artificial intelligence risk profile, they should consider four broad risk categories as a baseline for taking a proactive approach to guarding against AI-related exposures, say attorneys at Hunton.
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AI Brings New Insurance Concerns For Healthcare Providers
As the healthcare industry increasingly invests in medical artificial intelligence tools, it confronts a variety of liability risks that necessitate careful consideration and potential recalibration of providers' insurance programs, say Marialuisa Gallozzi and Megan Mumford Myers at Covington.
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Superfund Site Reopenings Carry Insured Risk, Opportunity
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's reported plans to reopen certain Superfund sites citing the presence of per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances raise notable liability concerns, but may also present unique opportunities for policyholders under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, say attorneys at Haynes and Boone.
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3 AI Regulation Developments Insurers Must Follow
Insurance regulators continue to actively develop regulations and guidance on the use of artificial intelligence, so insurers should be aware of recent developments from the Colorado Division of Insurance, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners and the New York Department of Financial Services, say attorneys at Willkie.
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Harvard's Broker Fight Shows Active Risk Management Is Key
Harvard University’s recently filed suit against its insurance broker for alleged malpractice in handling the Students for Fair Admissions claim illustrates that risk management requires the concerted effort of policyholders, brokers and insurers to protect against disastrous losses, say William McMichael and David Klein at Pillsbury.
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Illinois Trump Tower Ruling Illuminates Insurance 'Occurrence'
In Continental Casualty v. 401 North Wabash Venture, an Illinois appellate court found that Trump Tower was not entitled to insurance coverage for operating its HVAC system without a permit, helping to further define a widely litigated general liability insurance issue — what constitutes an "occurrence," say Robert Tugander and Greg Mann at Rivkin Radler.
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How Shareholder Activists Are Targeting Insurers
As shareholder activists take a closer look at the insurance industry, they are pushing insurers to take value-enhancing and climate-related measures — but insurers can prepare by anticipating activist concerns, maintaining robust shareholder engagement, and considering changes in response to the universal proxy rules, say attorneys at Debevoise.
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Breaking Down Insurers' Improper Recoupment Efforts
In a recent trend, insurance companies have sought to recoup defense costs from their policyholders, but there are four counterarguments that policyholders can deploy to fend off these concerning recoupment efforts, say William Passannante and Nicholas Bradley at Anderson Kill.
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Insurers Should Prepare For 'Black Swan' Climate Disasters
As rapid climate change results in increased risk of casualties and property loss from rare, severe weather events, the insurance industry should take five crucial steps toward evolving and continuing operations, including advanced analytic techniques and investments in alternative energy sources, say Stephen Brown and Irena Maier at Wilson Elser.
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How Ill. Supreme Court Could Shape Statutory Violation Cases
In Fausett v. Walgreens, the Illinois Supreme Court will take up the question of whether a violation of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act satisfies the injury-in-fact requirement, and any outcome could significantly change the litigation landscape in Illinois, say Donald Patrick Eckler and Joshua Zhao at Freeman Mathis.
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3 Quirks Of New Jersey Insurance Coverage Law
There are a multitude of state-specific requirements and nuances that make New Jersey insurance law unique, including in the areas of duty to defend, reservation of rights and bad faith, say attorneys at Goldberg Segalla.
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Conn. Insurers Should Note Stricter Market Exit Oversight
The Connecticut Insurance Department recently issued a bulletin that reflects a unique and stricter approach to insurers' market withdrawals and reductions in property and casualty business, making clear that it will not assess compliance based on an insurer's intent, but on the effect of the insurer's actions, says Elizabeth Retersdorf at Day Pitney.
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Extreme Weather And Renewable Project Insurance Coverage
Excerpt from Practical Guidance
The regularity and severity of extreme weather events driven by climate change are putting renewable energy projects increasingly at risk — so project owners, contractors and investors should understand the issues that can arise in these situations when seeking recovery under a builder's risk insurance policy, say Paul Ferland and Joshua Tumen at Cozen O'Connor.