General Liability
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July 02, 2025
Marsh Says Brokerage Poached Employees, Client
Insurance brokerage Marsh told a New York federal court that a competing brokerage orchestrated a scheme with former Marsh employees to steal clients in its surety business, noting that the competitor has faced over 70 other similar lawsuits.
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July 02, 2025
Mich. Justices Say Old Insurance Policies Violated New Limits
In a closely divided order Wednesday, the Michigan Supreme Court held that insurance policies straddling the dates for which 2019 no-fault reforms went into effect are subjected to post-reform increased limits for liability, reversing a lower appellate opinion in favor of insurers.
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July 02, 2025
Syracuse Diocese Ch. 11 Plan On Hold For Insurance Deal OK
A New York bankruptcy judge Wednesday pushed back a hearing on the Chapter 11 plan of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Syracuse two months until she can hear arguments on insurance settlements that are central to the plan.
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July 02, 2025
Kenyan Firm's Boeing Crash Fee-Sharing Suit Is Tossed
An Illinois federal judge has thrown out a suit by a Kenyan firm alleging that an Illinois firm wrongly pushed it out of a fee-sharing agreement stemming from a settlement with Boeing over the 2019 Ethiopian Airlines 737 Max crash, finding some of the claims fall under Illinois' litigation privilege, while the rest are unsupported by the complaint.
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July 01, 2025
Hartford Units Avoid Asbestos Settlement Coverage
Three Hartford units have no duty to cover a brake and clutch manufacturer for an asbestos injury settlement, a New Jersey federal court ruled, finding the company's late notice of the claim doomed its chances at coverage.
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June 27, 2025
Insurer Says No Coverage For Music Festival Shooting Suits
An event company's general liability insurer told a Washington federal court that it should owe no coverage to the company and others, including Live Nation, in two underlying lawsuits seeking damages for a fatal shooting at an electronic dance music festival.
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June 27, 2025
Insurer Seeks End Of Golf Co.'s $3.1M Hurricane Claim
A property insurer for a golf course owner told a North Carolina federal court it should toss the owner's claims that the insurer failed to pay an additional $3.1 million in coverage for Hurricane Helene-related damage in bad faith, saying it failed to back up such claims with specific factual allegations.
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June 27, 2025
Idaho Justices Dismiss Suit Over Skier's Death On Slopes
The Idaho Supreme Court has dismissed a widow's suit against Sun Valley Co. alleging the company was negligent and liable for the death of her husband from hitting a snow machine while skiing, finding that the machine was clearly marked in keeping with state law, and the skier had assumed the risks of the sport.
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June 26, 2025
Calif. FAIR Plan Fire Policy Is Unlawful, Court Rules
Fire insurance offered by California's insurer of last resort does not meet the minimum coverage standards laid out in the state insurance code, a California state court ruled, finding the policy's definition of "direct physical loss" and its smoke damage provision to be unlawfully restrictive.
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June 26, 2025
Insurance Litigation Week In Review
State Farm will likely face class certification in a California federal homeowners insurance case, the Ninth Circuit sought input from New York's top court over automakers' duties, and a New York federal court sided with a policyholder in coverage litigation over corporate sale and merger transactions. Here, Law360 takes a look at the past week's top insurance news.
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June 26, 2025
Grocer Drops Insurer From NC Opioid Coverage Suit
A grocery chain and a Chubb unit told a North Carolina state court they've agreed to drop their insurance coverage claims against each other with prejudice over a raft of underlying opioid lawsuits.
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June 26, 2025
Insurance May Not Solve Swalwell's DOJ Concerns
U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell’s decision to obtain liability insurance amid concerns of arrest and legal action from the Trump administration could encourage other public officials to follow suit, but questions remain over whether potential claims will fall within the scope of coverage, experts say. Here, policyholder attorneys share their thoughts on public officials shielding themselves with individual liability policies.
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June 26, 2025
NJ Water Treatment Co. Can't Avoid AIG's Rescission Bid
A water treatment product manufacturer must face an AIG unit's counterclaim seeking to rescind extensions of two policies, a New Jersey federal court ruled Thursday, saying the insurer plausibly alleged that the company made material misrepresentations in its policy application that could void coverage under the extensions.
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June 25, 2025
Insurer Seeks Exit From $1.7M Oil Pipeline Explosion Verdict
An insurer for a company specializing in providing nitrogen services for oil pipelines told a Texas federal court it should owe no coverage for a more than $1.7 million jury verdict against the company stemming from a pipeline explosion, pointing to exclusions for breach of contract and faulty work.
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June 25, 2025
4th Circ. Nixes $1M Award In Underinsured Motorist Dispute
A man injured in a car crash cannot recover underinsured motorist, or UIM, coverage under his employer's commercial auto policy, the Fourth Circuit ruled, vacating his $1 million award based on guidance from West Virginia's top court that insurers aren't required to offer such coverage for all vehicles they insure.
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June 24, 2025
Minn. Water Co. Prevails In Retained Limit Coverage Row
A water purification company that's faced a bevy of product liability lawsuits over a disinfectant product needs to pay only one $5 million retained limit before a Chubb unit's coverage obligations under umbrella policies potentially kick in for one of the underlying cases, a Minnesota federal court ruled.
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June 24, 2025
Scottsdale Insurance Ends Coverage Fight Over Mall Shooting
Scottsdale Insurance Co. informed a Florida federal judge on Tuesday it has settled its suit seeking an order that it doesn't owe coverage to the owner of a shopping plaza hit with a $1 million personal injury suit brought by a man who was shot in the plaza parking lot.
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June 24, 2025
Gaming Co. Asks 11th Circ. To Uphold Malpractice Coverage
A gaming company and a law firm asked the Eleventh Circuit to reject an insurer's bid to avoid representing the firm in a malpractice case, arguing that if at least one claim in an underlying complaint was covered, the insurer couldn't apply a misappropriation exclusion.
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June 23, 2025
Calif. Property Co. Denied Early Win In Defect Coverage Suit
A California federal court refused to hand a partial win to the owner of a Brentwood retirement community seeking excess coverage for an underlying settlement stemming from homeowners' construction defect claims, saying genuine issues of fact exist as to whether the claims constitute "suits" under the policy.
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June 20, 2025
9th Circ. Says NY Claims Against Hyundai Raise 'Novel' Issue
A split panel of the Ninth Circuit Friday refused to toss negligence claims from cities in Ohio and Wisconsin in consolidated litigation alleging Hyundai and Kia, of which Hyundai is a major shareholder, sold vehicles with design flaws that enabled car thefts nationwide, but said negligence claims under New York law "raise a novel issue" of state law.
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June 20, 2025
2nd Circ. Backs Chubb's Win In $49M Sandy Coverage Fight
The Second Circuit on Friday cemented a Chubb unit's win in a decade-long dispute over a chocolatier's bid for an additional $49 million in coverage for Superstorm Sandy losses, affirming a decision denying the chocolatier's requests to set aside a jury verdict or hold a new trial.
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June 18, 2025
Trade Atty Explores UK Insurance Ruling On Stranded Planes
In finding that major insurers are obliged to pay aircraft lessors billions over planes stranded in Russia following its invasion of Ukraine in 2022, a London court offered an interpretation of war risk loss that could set the stage for future litigation and change how carriers approach coverage, a trade law attorney told Law360. Here, Linda Jacques, a U.K.-based partner at Lester Aldridge LLP, dives into the ruling's implications and possible next steps.
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June 18, 2025
Fed. AI Moratorium Proposal May Undo State Insurance Regs
A proposed federal moratorium on state regulation of artificial intelligence systems has raised alarms from state insurance regulators and practitioners, who say the broad scope of the moratorium may threaten to undo long-established practices and spread confusion across the industry.
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June 18, 2025
Insurance Litigation Week In Review
The Fourth Circuit affirmed that a homeowner isn't entitled to a premium refund under federal mortgage law, a North Carolina federal court refused to resurrect a hospitality group's pandemic-related coverage suit, and a New York federal court said an insurer can't force another to defend a property owner in an injury lawsuit. Here, Law360 takes a look at the past week's top insurance news.
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June 18, 2025
Data Center Risks Call For Close Eye During Policy Renewal
Data centers in the United States continue to grow, but the operators have an often unique portfolio of risks that may not fit squarely within the coverage provided by existing insurance products. Here, Law360 speaks with Reed Smith partner Stephen T. Raptis about the potential risks that data center operators may face and how these policyholders should approach renewals to ensure the data center is properly covered.
Expert Analysis
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Strategies To Help Witnesses Manage Deposition Anxiety
During and leading up to deposition, witnesses may experience anxiety stemming from numerous sources and manifesting in a variety of ways, but attorneys can help them mitigate their stress using a few key methods, say consultants at Courtroom Sciences.
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5 Insurance Types For Mitigating Tariff-Related Trade Losses
The potential for significant trade-related losses as a result of increased tariffs may cause companies to consider which of their insurance policies, including marine, builders risk, trade credit, and directors and officers, could provide coverage to alleviate the financial impact, say attorneys at Pillsbury.
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Home Depot Ruling Tolls Death Knell For 'Silent Cyber'
The Sixth Circuit's recent ruling that Home Depot's insurers did not have to cover costs from a data breach hammered one more nail in the coffin of silent cyber, where coverage is sought under standard property or commercial general liability policies that were not intended to insure cyberattack claims, say attorneys at Zelle.
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Texas Case Shows Why Juries Are Well-Suited To COVID Suits
The original jury verdict in Baylor College of Medicine v. Lloyd's, currently on appeal to the Texas Supreme Court after being overturned by an appellate panel, illustrates why COVID-19 business interruption claims with their case-specific facts need to be decided by juries, not by judges using a one-size-fits-all approach, says Jeremy Lawrence at Farella Braun.
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Filial Consortium Claims' Future After Conn. High Court Ruling
While the Connecticut Supreme Court recently ruled for defendants in rejecting parents’ attempt to recover loss of companionship damages in a severe child injury case, there is still potential for the plaintiffs bar to lobby for a law that would allow filial consortium claims, Glenn Coffin at Gordon Rees.
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In-House Expert Testimony Is Tricky, But Worth Considering
Litigation counsel often reject the notion of designating in-house personnel to provide expert opinion testimony at trial, but dismissing them outright can result in a significant missed opportunity, say David Ben-Meir at Ben-Meir Law and Martin Pitha at Lillis Pitha.
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Tracking Changes To AI Evidence Under Federal Rules
As the first quarter of 2025 draws to a close, important changes to the Federal Rules of Evidence regarding the use of artificial intelligence in the courtroom are on the horizon, including how to handle evidence that is a product of machine learning, say attorneys at Debevoise.
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Key Insurance Issues Likely To Arise From NY Superfund Law
The recently enacted New York Climate Change Superfund Act imposes a massive $75 billion in liabilities on energy companies in the fossil fuel industry, which can be expected to look to their insurers for coverage, raising a slew of coverage issues both old and new, say attorneys at Wiley.
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What To Know About NAIC's Risk-Based Capital Task Force
Attorneys at Debevoise outline key details of the Risk-Based Capital Model Governance Task Force, which was recently launched by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, including the task force's objectives, and potential implications for insurers and their investment strategies.
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How To Create A Unique Jury Profile For Every Case
Instead of striking potential jurors based on broad stereotypes or gut feelings, trial attorneys should create case-specific risk profiles that address the political climate, the specific facts of the case and the venue in order to more precisely identify higher-risk jurors, says Ken Broda-Bahm at Persuasion Strategies.
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AG Watch: Texas Is Entering New Privacy Enforcement Era
The state of Texas' recent suit against Allstate is the culmination of a long-standing commitment to vigorously enforcing privacy laws in the state, and while still in the early stages, it offers several important insights for companies and privacy practitioners, says Paul Singer at Kelley Drye.
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What To Know About Insurance Coverage For Greenwashing
As the number of public and private lawsuits relating to greenwashing dramatically grows, risk managers of companies making environmental claims should look to several types of insurance for coverage in the event of a suit, say attorneys at Hunton.
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Managing Anti-Corporate Juror Views Revealed By CEO Killing
After the shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson laid bare deep-seated anti-corporate sentiments among the public, companies in numerous industries will have to navigate the influence of related juror biases on litigation dynamics, say Jorge Monroy and Keith Pounds at IMS Legal Strategies.