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General Liability

  • January 22, 2025

    Insurer Asks NC Court To Revive Civil Rights Coverage Fight

    An insurer asked a North Carolina state appeals court to revive its case seeking to deny coverage to the state after stepbrothers who were wrongfully convicted of the rape and murder of an 11-year-old girl won an underlying civil rights suit against the state officers they blamed for their incarceration.

  • January 22, 2025

    Benzene Suits Against Retailers Not Covered, Insurer Says

    An insurer doesn't have to cover claims that CVS, Walmart, Walgreens and others sold products linked to a carcinogen, benzene, because the customers making the underlying allegations sought only reimbursement for the products they bought, the carrier told a California state court.

  • January 21, 2025

    As Fire Victims Seek Legal Help, Experts Warn Of Red Flags

    As lawyers from across the nation descend upon Southern California to sign up those affected by the devastating wildfires, fire victims should not rush to hire an attorney, lest they also become victims of fraud or other predatory practices, the state bar and ethics-savvy attorneys warn.

  • January 21, 2025

    6th Circ. Won't Reinstate $18.3M Verdict Against TransUnion

    The Sixth Circuit refused to reconsider a decision that vacated an $18.3 million jury award against TransUnion LLC, rejecting a request from a startup that claimed the credit reporting company kept hold of intellectual property related to the development of an insurance quote marketplace after their partnership dissolved.

  • January 17, 2025

    Law360 Names Practice Groups Of The Year

    Law360 would like to congratulate the winners of its Practice Groups of the Year awards for 2024, which honor the attorney teams behind litigation wins and significant transaction work that resonated throughout the legal industry this past year.

  • January 17, 2025

    Law360 Names Firms Of The Year

    Eight law firms have earned spots as Law360's Firms of the Year, with 54 Practice Group of the Year awards among them, steering some of the largest deals of 2024 and securing high-profile litigation wins, including at the U.S. Supreme Court.

  • January 16, 2025

    GM, OnStar Agree To FTC's Ban On Location Data Sharing

    General Motors and OnStar agreed to a five-year ban on disclosing geolocation and driver behavior data to consumer reporting agencies to resolve the Federal Trade Commission's allegations that the companies didn't get drivers' consent before sharing, the agency announced Thursday.

  • January 16, 2025

    Fire-Safe Rebuilding Key To Reducing LA Insurance Issues

    Reducing the potential of fires like those in Los Angeles to disrupt insurance and housing markets will require a significant and sustained effort to lower physical risks in fire-prone communities, and a commitment to rebuilding to stronger standards.

  • January 16, 2025

    Insured Atty Says Strike Trade Issues Need Special Coverage

    Union leaders and management for ports and shipping companies reached a tentative deal to avoid a major strike, a close call that highlighted how losses from trade disruptions can fall through the cracks of standard insurance coverage. Stephen Raptis, a partner at Reed Smith LLP's insurance recovery practice, spoke to Law360 about the kinds of losses that can result from a strike-induced supply chain disruption, where the usual coverage options fall short and what policyholders in the maritime trade can do to minimize their risks.

  • January 16, 2025

    Insurer Must Share In Calif. Property Co. Defense, Court Told

    An insurer for a property management company said another carrier must contribute to the defense of an underlying suit accusing the company of failing to maintain a mobile home park, telling a California federal court that the reasons for the other insurer's denial are either improper or moot.

  • January 16, 2025

    Allstate Hit With Class Action Over Driver Data Collection

    Allstate illegally obtained the personal driving data of millions of policyholders via software embedded in third-party apps and secretly used that data to hike premiums, deny claims or drop policyholders from coverage altogether, according to a proposed class action filed in Illinois federal court.

  • January 16, 2025

    Home Depot's 6th Circ. Loss Reveals Cyber Coverage Gaps

    The Sixth Circuit's finding that an electronic data exclusion in Home Depot's insurance policies barred coverage for a $50 million claim stemming from a 2014 data breach marks an important distinction in litigation over whether multiple types of policies can cover the same loss, experts say.

  • January 16, 2025

    Insurance Litigation Week In Review

    The Sixth Circuit backed Home Depot’s loss in its $50 million data breach coverage fight, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear a California farming partnership’s crop coverage dispute, and the Fourth Circuit ruled that an insurer must reimburse Liberty Mutual for a $1 million appeal bond. Here, Law360 takes a look at the past week's top insurance news.

  • January 15, 2025

    4th Circ. Affirms $1M Appeal Bond Reimbursement Ruling

    Atain Specialty Insurance Co. must reimburse Liberty Mutual Insurance Co. for the $1 million appeal bond Liberty issued to an Atain insured that ultimately lost its appeal in an underlying suit, the Fourth Circuit ruled Wednesday, even though Liberty incorrectly indicated it previously closed the bond.

  • January 15, 2025

    Grocer, Insurers Must Produce Docs In NC Opioid Row

    A North Carolina state court issued a discovery decision in a dispute between grocery chain Harris Teeter Supermarkets Inc. and a slew of its insurers over coverage for about 100 lawsuits seeking damages related to the opioid epidemic, telling the parties to hand over certain documents from between 1993 and 2014.

  • January 15, 2025

    Chubb Unit Seeks Exit From Bar's $105M Drunken Driving Suit

    A Chubb unit said it no longer owes coverage to a bar appealing a $105 million judgment related to a drunken patron's car crash, telling a Texas federal court the bar violated the terms of the policy by refusing to cooperate with the insurer's defense.

  • January 14, 2025

    Lockheed, CNA Pause Coverage Suit Amid Settlement Talks

    A Maryland federal court agreed Tuesday to continue pausing a dispute between Lockheed Martin Corp. and a CNA Financial unit over coverage for lawsuits accusing the aerospace and defense giant of environmental contamination, as the parties negotiate a potential coverage settlement.

  • January 13, 2025

    6th Circ. OKs Home Depot's $50M Data Breach Coverage Loss

    The Sixth Circuit affirmed Monday a finding that an electronic-data exclusion provision in Home Depot Inc.'s commercial general liability excess policies with Steadfast Insurance Co. and Great American Assurance Co. unambiguously barred coverage for the retail giant's $50 million claim for defense and settlement costs over a 2014 data breach.

  • January 13, 2025

    State Farm, Insurance Association Escape Data-Sharing Suit

    An Illinois federal judge dismissed a proposed class action complaint Monday accusing State Farm of improperly sharing personal health information with a consortium of other insurers that allowed them to raise premiums and deny coverage industrywide, finding the conduct wasn't prohibited under the Illinois Insurance Code.

  • January 10, 2025

    Excess Insurers Freed From Kiwanis Sex Abuse Case

    A Washington federal judge on Friday dismissed child sex abuse survivors' claims against excess insurers of a boys foster home run by Kiwanis International, calling the plaintiffs' demands for coverage of a $21 million judgment "unripe" because the home's primary policies have not been drained.

  • January 10, 2025

    Contractor Seeks Coverage For $2.5M Grass Damage Row

    An air services company told a New York federal court Friday that an AIG unit cited a raft of inapplicable exclusions to deny commercial general liability coverage over claims that it caused nearly $2.5 million in damages by aerially applying herbicides on the wrong areas.

  • January 10, 2025

    Insurer Says No Coverage For Unlicensed Electrician's Death

    An Oklahoma grocery store's insurer shouldn't have to cover litigation brought by the family of a man who died while performing electrical work because he was unlicensed and because the store, when obtaining its policy, said it didn't hire independent contractors, the insurer told a federal court.

  • January 10, 2025

    LA Fire Insured Damages Could Top $20B, JP Morgan Says

    Insured losses from wildfires still blazing through Los Angeles could exceed $20 billion, J.P. Morgan analysts said in client notes, a steep increase from the more than $12 billion California insurers incurred from the next costliest spate of wildfires in 2018.

  • January 09, 2025

    EV Co. Says Liberty Mutual Owes $25M In Construction Clash

    Vietnamese electric car company VinFast accused Liberty Mutual Insurance Co. in North Carolina federal court of wrongfully refusing to pay more than $25 million for a $40 million deposit bond related to the construction of a manufacturing plant in the state.

  • January 09, 2025

    Calif. Reinsurance Plan Spurs Mixed Feelings As Fires Spread

    One week before the Los Angeles wildfires began, California's insurance regulator said insurers would soon be required to increase coverage in areas deemed high-risk for wildfires, leaving experts split over whether the regulation is an overdue update or an opportunity to pass costs onto policyholders.

Expert Analysis

  • How Ill. Supreme Court Could Shape Statutory Violation Cases

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    In Fausett v. Walgreens, the Illinois Supreme Court will take up the question of whether a violation of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act satisfies the injury-in-fact requirement, and any outcome could significantly change the litigation landscape in Illinois, say Donald Patrick Eckler and Joshua Zhao at Freeman Mathis.

  • 3 Quirks Of New Jersey Insurance Coverage Law

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    There are a multitude of state-specific requirements and nuances that make New Jersey insurance law unique, including in the areas of duty to defend, reservation of rights and bad faith, say attorneys at Goldberg Segalla.

  • Conn. Insurers Should Note Stricter Market Exit Oversight

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    The Connecticut Insurance Department recently issued a bulletin that reflects a unique and stricter approach to insurers' market withdrawals and reductions in property and casualty business, making clear that it will not assess compliance based on an insurer's intent, but on the effect of the insurer's actions, says Elizabeth Retersdorf at Day Pitney.

  • Extreme Weather And Renewable Project Insurance Coverage

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    The regularity and severity of extreme weather events driven by climate change are putting renewable energy projects increasingly at risk — so project owners, contractors and investors should understand the issues that can arise in these situations when seeking recovery under a builder's risk insurance policy, say Paul Ferland and Joshua Tumen at Cozen O'Connor.

  • Potential Relief For Nevada Insureds Is On The Horizon

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    A proposed regulation recently issued by the Nevada Division of Insurance would severely restrict the state's new law prohibiting burning-limits policies, enacting welcome changes to address businesses' concerns that the law will make it harder to obtain cost-effective liability insurance, says Sheri Thome at Wilson Elser.

  • Suits Likely Over Nevada Law Limiting Claimant Injury Exams

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    A new Nevada law placing barriers on the mental or physical examinations that defendants use to evaluate claimants' injuries will likely spur waves of litigation to reconcile it with existing rules and practice, says Michael Lowry at Wilson Elser.

  • Mass. Ruling Shows Value Of Additional Insured Specifics

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    A Massachusetts court’s recent D.F. Pray v. Wesco Insurance decision demonstrates that blanket additional insured endorsements can create issues with personal jurisdiction, so those named as additional insureds should require their lower-tier contractors to use specific endorsements, say Thomas Dunn and Sheya Rivard at Pierce Atwood.

  • Insurance Cos. Are Stretching Construction Standard Limits

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    In the construction sector, the importance of closely vetting downstream parties' insurance policies has never been more critical — owners and general contractors need to be on the lookout for ever broader carrier-specific expansions of standard insurance provisions that are perilous for risk transfer, says Eric Clarkson at Saxe Doernberger.

  • 7 Ways Telco Operators Can Approach Lead Cable Claims

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    A recent spotlight on the telecommunication industry shows that companies in the field have known for decades that lead-wrapped cables proliferate in their vast networks, which is likely to provoke prolonged and costly legal battles — but seven best practices can efficiently resolve claims and minimize damage, say consultants at AlixPartners.

  • What Wis. High Court Ruling Means For Coverage Analysis

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    Overturning insurance law precedent in 5 Walworth v. Engerman Contracting, the Wisconsin Supreme Court recently rejected the use of the economic loss doctrine and integrated systems analysis in commercial general liability cases, but a strongly worded concurrence could indicate that the court's opinion may have limited persuasive reach, say Laura Lin and Pierce MacConaghy at Simpson Thacher.

  • Auto Insurers Should Reassess Calif. Diminished Value Claims

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    Many California auto insurers currently pay third-party claims for diminished value damages after a vehicle has been in an accident; however, federal decisions interpreting California law suggest that insurers may not have to pay some of these claims, says Charles Danaher at Sheppard Mullin.

  • In Ga., Promptness Is Key To Setting Aside Default Judgments

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    The Georgia Court of Appeals' recent vacating of a lower court's decision to set aside a default judgment against Samsung Electronics America is a reminder of the processes and arguments provided by Georgia's statutes for challenging default judgments — including the importance of responding quickly, says Katy Robertson at Swift Currie.

  • 1st Circ. Harvard Ruling Provides Primer On Policy Provisions

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    In its recent finding of no coverage for Harvard due to the school's failure to give Zurich American Insurance timely notice of its claim, the First Circuit provides a good analysis of the distinctions between occurrence and claims-made policies, including the rationale for differences in notice provisions, says Andrew Paliotta at Cozen O'Connor.