On April 3, 2025, a Texas state appeals court reversed a trial court order awarding Exxon Mobil $25 million under an umbrella insurance policy issued by Lexington Insurance Co. to Brock Services Ltd. The appeals court found that the umbrella policy’s employer’s liability exclusion applied to preclude coverage for bodily injury claims made against Exxon given its status as a “statutory employer” of the injured claimants. Brock Services contracted with Exxon to provide ... Keep Reading »
Ninth Circuit Adopts General Rule Regarding Circumstances in Which Excess Insurers May Dispute Exhaustion of Underlying Insurance
Addressing an issue of first impression, the Ninth Circuit recently adopted a general rule that will sharply limit the ability of excess insurers to second-guess payment decisions made by lower-level insurers. Subject to limited exceptions, the court concluded that an excess carrier generally cannot challenge decisions underlying insurers made with respect to earlier, unrelated claims, as a basis for arguing that its own layer of coverage has not yet been reached. AXIS ... Keep Reading »
‘Me Too’ Coverage Implications for Employers
When an employer negligently supervises an employee who commits separate acts of sexual harassment against three different co-workers on separate occasions, how many "occurrences" are there under a standard commercial general liability policy? The Northern District of Ohio, Eastern Division, considered this question in Scott Fetzer Co. v. Zurich Am. Ins. Co., No. 16 CV 1570 (N.D. Ohio Dec. 18, 2017), and concluded that the answer is three. Three Times the Harassment In ... Keep Reading »