Hastings Mutual Insurance Co. v. Mengel Dairy Farms LLC arose out of a dispute over coverage between two commercial dairy farmers who manage and care for more than 1,000 cows across farms in Pennsylvania and Ohio, and their business interruption insurer, Hastings Mutual Insurance Co., which insured the farmers' cows against a number of unlikely events - including accidental shooting, attack by wild animals, and - most relevant here - electrocution. In 2018, the ... Keep Reading »
Delaware Court Finds Appraisal Proceeding Is Not a Claim “for a Wrongful Act” and Dismisses $177M Coverage Action
The Superior Court of Delaware rebuffed efforts by a policyholder to recover defense costs and interest it incurred in connection with an underlying appraisal proceeding, agreeing with the defendant-insurers that the proceeding did not seek redress “for a wrongful act.” The Appraisal Action Jarden LLC f/k/a Jarden Corp. was a holding company for a number of well-known consumer brands. In December 2015, Jarden agreed to merge with Newell Rubbermaid Inc. for cash ... Keep Reading »
Delaware Superior Court Finds Securities Class Action and Its Opt Outs’ Subsequent Class Action Are “Related Claims”
In First Solar Inc. v. National Union Fire Insurance Company of Pittsburgh, the Delaware Superior Court held there was no coverage for a class action brought by the individuals who opted out of a prior class action that had been filed before the subject policies’ inception where both actions involved fundamentally identical allegations of wrongdoing. First Solar sought coverage for a class action lawsuit filed on June 23, 2015 (Maverick action) under primary and ... Keep Reading »
Florida Appellate Court Issues Opinion on Validity of Assignment of Benefits in Property Insurance Claim
As the Florida Legislature and Florida courts continue to grapple with the issue of assignments of benefits in property claims, the Fourth District Court of Appeal recently weighed in on a matter involving the validity of a purported assignment in QBE Specialty Insurance Co. v. United Reconstruction Group Inc. The case involved a water damage claim at a home insured by QBE Specialty Insurance Co. United Reconstruction Group was hired to perform emergency water ... Keep Reading »
Illinois Supreme Court Finds That Alleged Sharing of Fingerprint Data Violates the Right of Privacy, a “Personal Injury” Triggering Duty to Defend
The Illinois Supreme Court recently affirmed that West Bend Mutual Insurance Co. has a duty to defend an insured under a business insurance policy against allegations that they violated the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA), finding that an exclusion that bars coverage for certain statutory actions did not apply. The court ruled that a tanning salon’s sharing of its clients’ biometric identifiers and biometric information (fingerprints) with a third-party ... Keep Reading »
South Carolina Supreme Court Authorizes Homeowner’s Insurers to Estimate Depreciation of “Embedded Labor Components” in Calculation of Actual Cash Value
The South Carolina Supreme Court, in the matter of Butler v. Travelers Home & Marine Insurance Co., held that when an insurer is determining actual cash value (ACV) under a homeowners insurance policy, the insurer can depreciate the cost of labor that includes both materials and embedded labor components. The case concerns two separate matters that were filed in a single action in federal district court involving fire damage to the homes of plaintiffs Miriam ... Keep Reading »
Florida Supreme Court Permits Insurer to Maintain Subrogated Malpractice Claim Against Counsel Retained to Represent Its Insured
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 »
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