Long-standing Florida law recognized only two limited exceptions to the general rule prohibiting a third party from pursuing a legal malpractice claim against an attorney who was not in privity with the third party - a will drafting situation and a private placement memoranda situation. In Arch Insurance Co. v. Kubicki Draper, LLP, the Florida Supreme Court created a third exception, now allowing an insurer with a duty to defend to stand in the shoes of its insured and ... Keep Reading »
New York Federal Court Rejects Argument That SEC Investigation Constitutes a “Securities Claim” Under D&O Policies
Recent Delaware decisions reveal a trend of insureds seeking to expand the definition of “Securities Claims” in their D&O policies, and Delaware courts refusing to do so. You can read our discussion on those rulings here and here and here. In March, the Southern District of New York aligned with this line of Delaware decisions, ruling that an SEC investigation did not constitute a “Securities Claim,” and dismissing a lawsuit against insurers that sought recovery of ... Keep Reading »
Insurer Prevails in First Substantive Appellate Ruling in COVID-19-Related Insurance Coverage Litigation
In what appears to be the first substantive appellate ruling in COVID-19-related insurance coverage litigation, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals in Oral Surgeons, P.C. v. Cincinnati Insurance Co. ruled in favor of the insurer and affirmed the trial court’s order of dismissal under Iowa law. The plaintiff in Oral Surgeons, a dental practice, allegedly sustained financial losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic and related government orders that temporarily restricted ... Keep Reading »
PSA: Second Circuit Issues Reminder of the Consequences for Lack of Specificity in Disclaimers of Coverage for Personal Injury Claims Under New York Law
We have previously discussed the requirements imposed on insurers by New York law to inform insureds seeking coverage for death or bodily injury to describe any disclaimer of coverage “with a high degree of specificity of the ground or grounds on which the disclaimer is predicated.” In Philadelphia Indemnity Insurance Co. v. Yeshivat Beth Hillel of Krasna Inc., the Second Circuit Court of Appeals recently illustrated the consequences of failing to disclaim with such ... Keep Reading »
Texas Federal Court Finds Law Firm’s Alleged 40,000 Unauthorized Claims Related to Deepwater Horizon Disaster Were Not “Professional Services” Triggering Duty to Defend
The Southern District of Texas held that New York Marine and General Insurance Co. had no duty to defend its insured under a legal professional malpractice insurance policy for claims stemming from the firm's efforts to develop business in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon disaster. In the underlying litigation (the Nguyen litigation), a group of 439 Vietnamese Americans brought claims against the law firm, alleging that the firm targeted Vietnamese American fishermen ... Keep Reading »
Ninth Circuit Finds Refusal to Accept a Demand, Without More, Is Not a “Claim” Under Policy
On April 9, 2021, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a lower court’s ruling that Starr Surplus Lines Insurance Co. need not provide coverage for Alorica Inc.’s loss from a 2018 phishing attack because the letter received from Alorica regarding the incident did not constitute a “claim” under Starr’s policy. The policy defined a “claim” as a “written demand for monetary or non-monetary relief.” Alorica contended that a letter from Express Scripts to Alorica, ... Keep Reading »
Colorado Federal Court Finds “Kona” Class Actions Did Not Trigger “Personal and Advertising Injury” Insuring Agreement
A Colorado federal court relieved the Travelers Indemnity Company of America and Travelers Property Casualty Company of America of any obligation to defend or indemnify two putative class actions, finding neither action implicated the insuring agreement for "personal and advertising injury" contained in several Travelers commercial liability policies. The Underlying Actions Two underlying class actions were filed in Washington federal court against various coffee ... Keep Reading »
Consistent With Nationwide Trend, Recent Decisions Applying Louisiana Law Find COVID-19 Does Not Cause Physical Loss or Damage
Consistent with the majority of decisions in courts across the country, a number of Louisiana state and federal courts have recently held that COVID-19 does not cause physical loss or damage to property as required for coverage under most first-party property policies. In a summary judgment decision issued from the bench in Nite, Nite LLC v. Certain Underwriters at Lloyd’s, London, a Louisiana state court considered whether the state government’s COVID-19 shutdown ... Keep Reading »
Florida Senate Passes Legislation to Reform Litigation for Property Insurance Claims
Toward the end of the 2021 Florida legislative session, the Florida Senate passed Senate Bill 76, a bill that focuses on reducing litigation related to property insurance claims and also places restrictions on companies soliciting insureds to file roof claims. At the heart of SB 76 is the implementation of a presuit requirement that any claimant (who is not an assignee of the policy) must provide written notice of intent to initiate litigation to the insurer at least ... Keep Reading »
No More Runway for Florida COVID-19 Insurance Coverage Lawsuit
Judge Raag Singhal in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida recently dismissed with prejudice a COVID-19 business interruption insurance coverage lawsuit brought by the owners of Anthony's Runway 84 - a popular restaurant near the Fort Lauderdale airport. As this blog has reported previously, there has been a tidal wave of rulings in favor of insurers in COVID-19 business interruption insurance coverage lawsuits. With Judge Singhal's dismissal with ... Keep Reading »
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