A federal district court in Washington recently held that a claims handling mishap resulted in a waiver of the attorney-client privilege otherwise protecting a coverage opinion provided by the insurer’s internal legal department. The Underlying Action & Internal Claims Handling Phoenix issued a liability policy to Diamond Plastics Corporation (Diamond), which supplied sewer and water pipes to H.D. Fowler (Fowler). The pipes were installed during a utility ... Keep Reading »
Eleventh Circuit Finds No “Direct Physical Loss” to Dust-Covered Restaurant that Merely Required Cleaning
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, so does the deluge of litigation stemming from property insurers' denials of COVID-19 business interruption claims. Much of the debate between carriers and policyholders concerns whether the coronavirus or the COVID-19 shutdown orders caused "direct physical loss of or damage to" the insured's property. The Eleventh Circuit's recent opinion in Mama Jo's Inc. v. Sparta Insurance Co., while not related to COVID-19, arguably supports the ... Keep Reading »
Fifth Circuit Ices Insured’s Bid to Recover Insurance Proceeds for Assigned Boiler Claim
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals recently ruled that an insured could not bring a claim to recover proceeds against its insurer after the insured transferred its rights to recover the proceeds to a third party. The case, CRU Shreveport LLC v. United National Insurance Co., stems from a coverage dispute between CRU Shreveport and United National Insurance regarding a boiler accident in a hotel owned by CRU and insured by United. The incident occurred in 2016 when a ... Keep Reading »
Coverage Claim Bites the Dust: Seventh Circuit Finds No Coverage for $50 Million Judgment Resulting From Dust Pollution Due to Known Claim and Expected or Intended Injury Exclusions
In Greene v. Westfield Insurance Co., the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals recently affirmed summary judgment finding that commercial general liability policies issued by Westfield Insurance Co. did not cover a $50.56 million default judgment entered against its insured, VIM Recycling, based on the policies’ “known claims” and “expected or intended injury” exclusions. Dust Pollution Leads to $50.56 Million Default Judgment VIM Recycling operated a wood recycling ... Keep Reading »
Eleventh Circuit Explicitly Adopts Distinction Following Hoover to Confirm That Coverage Cannot Be Created Through Waiver or Estoppel
On July 30, 2020, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals in AEGIS Electric & Gas International Services Ltd. v. ECI Management LLC reversed the trial court's grant of summary judgment in favor of an insurer, AEGIS Electric & Gas International Services Ltd. In that case, AEGIS issued a real estate services professional liability policy to ECI Management LLC. Subsequently, ECI was named as a defendant in a putative class action in which the plaintiff alleged that ... Keep Reading »
DC Court Finds No Coverage for COVID-19 Losses Where Plaintiffs Could Not Show That Property Sustained Direct Physical Loss
For going on five months, the United States has been dealing with the difficult impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has disrupted daily lives and sometimes devastated businesses. In looking for sources of economic recovery, businesses want to turn to their commercial property policies, but, as this blog has explained, these policies are unlikely to provide the coverage business owners seek because there must first be "direct physical loss of or damage" to the insured ... Keep Reading »
Federal Puerto Rico Court Affirms That Coverage Under Claims-Made Policy Is Not Created by Waiver or Estoppel
The U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico recently granted summary judgment in favor of Liberty International Underwriters after determining that coverage was not created by waiver or estoppel for a claim first made six months before the policy period of a claims-made policy. In Galarza-Cruz v. Grupo Hima San Pablo Inc., the plaintiff sued multiple defendants, including the insured and Liberty, in connection with various claims under Title VII and multiple ... Keep Reading »
Don’t Lead Me On: Georgia Court of Appeals Finds Insurance Company Did Not Mislead Insured and Therefore Did Not Waive Policy’s Suit Limitation Provision
Insurance policies often contain "limitation-of-action" or suit limitation provisions, which contractually reduce the statute of limitations for an insured to assert a claim against an insurer. Depending on the state, such provisions can be enforceable because, as a general matter, parties are free to contract on whatever terms they wish, so long as they do not violate a particular statute or public policy. However, there are certain circumstances under which an insurer ... Keep Reading »
Ninth Circuit Finds No Coverage Under Advertising Liability Policy for Walmart’s Floor Display of Goods and Services Supplied by Insured Apparel Vendor
In Hybrid Promotions LLC v. Federal Insurance Co., the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals determined that an advertising liability policy issued to Hybrid did not apply to an advertising "arrangement" created by Walmart's placement of Hybrid's goods and signage in close proximity to signage created by the underlying claimant MMA Elite. Hybrid Promotions LLC supplied Walmart with apparel and associated display racks and signage. Pursuant to its agreement with Walmart, ... Keep Reading »
Seventh Circuit Rejects Insured’s “Claim Within a Claim” Argument
The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals recently had occasion to clarify the parameters of a “claim” in insurance policies. In Market Street Bancshares Inc. v. Federal Insurance Co., Judge Kanne penned an opinion holding that a legal argument appearing in an already uncovered “claim” cannot itself constitute a “claim” for purposes of liability policies. This insurance coverage dispute involved an almost two-decade-long underlying lawsuit against the insured, a bank, long ... Keep Reading »
- « Previous Page
- 1
- …
- 14
- 15
- 16
- 17
- 18
- …
- 47
- Next Page »