Property
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August 06, 2025
Insurer Can't Escape La. Church's $5M Hurricane Ida Suit
An insurer can't escape a Louisiana church's suit seeking nearly $5 million in coverage for claimed Hurricane Ida damage, a federal court ruled Wednesday, rejecting the insurer's contention that the church breached the policy's cooperation requirement and failed to provide timely proof of loss.
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August 06, 2025
COST Asks Mich. Justices To OK Nationwide's Unitary Tax Win
The Council on State Taxation backed entities of Nationwide in the Michigan Supreme Court on Wednesday, saying the justices should affirm an appellate court's decision that said the insurance company's affiliates are entitled to file their taxes as a combined group of businesses.
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August 06, 2025
Ceramics Co. Seeks Biz Interruption Coverage Over Hurricane
A ceramics and home goods retailer accused a Travelers unit of violating North Carolina's unfair claims settlement practices and deceptive trade practices laws, telling a federal court the insurer deliberately misrepresented statements from its chief financial officer to support its denial of the retailer's Hurricane Helene claim.
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August 05, 2025
Homeowners Policy Doesn't Cover Shooting, 6th Circ. Says
State Farm has no duty to defend or indemnify a man facing wrongful death claims after he unintentionally shot and killed a woman in a domestic dispute, the Sixth Circuit affirmed Tuesday, finding that his intentional gunshots still created a foreseeable risk of harm and thus weren't an insurable accident.
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August 05, 2025
Insurer Must Turn Over Adjuster Docs In Hotel's Fire Loss Suit
A hotel owner's insurer must turn over certain documents relating to the disciplinary history, compensation and qualifications of certain claims adjusters, an Idaho federal court ruled after the owner accused the insurer of intentionally delaying the resolution of its fire loss claim.
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August 05, 2025
Property Co. Sues Zurich Over Music Video Shooting Defense
Zurich failed to adequately defend claims over a shooting that occurred during the filming of a music video for rapper Lil Baby, an Atlanta property owner told a Georgia federal court, saying it's entitled to retain independent counsel at the insurer's expense due to an ongoing conflict of interest.
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August 05, 2025
States Win Ruling To Shield FEMA Disaster Prevention Funds
A Massachusetts federal judge on Tuesday temporarily barred the Trump administration from redirecting more than $4 billion in funds allocated by Congress for natural disaster mitigation efforts toward other Federal Emergency Management Agency programs.
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August 04, 2025
Title Insurer Faces Partial Loss In $26M Loan Dispute
A lender's title insurer breached its duty to defend mechanic's lien lawsuits from subcontractors after a senior living community owner defaulted on its nearly $26 million construction loan, a Colorado federal court ruled, adding that the insurer had to indemnify certain amounts of the general contractor's lien claim, too.
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August 04, 2025
Lowenstein Sandler Hires New Insurance Recovery Partner
Lowenstein Sandler LLP has added a new partner to its insurance recovery group who has a wide breadth of experience in not only representing corporate policyholders, but also in advising clients in general commercial cases, the firm announced Monday.
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August 01, 2025
Most Of Property Co.'s Hailstorm Insurance Fight Tossed
A property investment company can raise nearly none of its claims against its insurer for hailstorm damage from 2019 and 2023, a North Carolina federal court ruled, finding that because claims concerning the 2019 storm are time-barred, those corresponding documents can't support much of the 2023 claims.
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July 31, 2025
Top Property Insurance Decisions So Far In 2025
A U.K. decision over coverage for Russian-seized aircraft and a Second Circuit ruling in favor of international insurers seeking to arbitrate hurricane damage claims are among some of the biggest decisions in the property insurance space so far in 2025.
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July 31, 2025
CGL Cases To Watch In The Second Half Of 2025
Federal and state courts continue to weigh litigation involving public nuisance, long-tail environmental and sexual abuse claims. Here, Law360 breaks down some of the blockbuster commercial general liability insurance cases to follow in the second half of the year.
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July 31, 2025
10th Circ. Says Water Exclusion Bars Co.'s $1.75M Loss
A Kansas office building's property insurer has no duty to provide coverage for roughly $1.75 million in repairs over a broken water pipe, the Tenth Circuit ruled, rejecting the building owner's argument that an exception in one exclusion conflicted with a separate exclusion for water damage.
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July 31, 2025
Insurer Avoids Businesses' COVID-19 Coverage Claims
A property insurer for numerous restaurants, bars and other small businesses owes no coverage for their consolidated business interruption claims related to the COVID-19 pandemic, an Illinois federal court ruled, looking to the laws of Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota and Tennessee.
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July 31, 2025
Judge Questions Gov't Objection To Shielding FEMA Funds
A Massachusetts federal judge Thursday questioned the Trump administration's assertion that it has not redirected funds allocated by Congress for natural disaster mitigation efforts toward other Federal Emergency Management Agency programs, even as the government was objecting to states' narrow request to protect the funds for now.
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July 31, 2025
Insurance Litigation Week In Review
State Farm must pay over $54.6 million in vehicle valuation class actions, an AIG unit doesn't owe coverage for an herbicide damage dispute, Allianz must provide coverage for a hot air balloon company's passenger crash suits, and an RV park can proceed with a suit against its insurance broker. Here, Law360 takes a look at the past week's top insurance news.
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July 30, 2025
State Farm Ordered To Pay $54.6M Over Vehicle Valuations
State Farm must pay more than $54.6 million across two class actions for underpaying the value of totaled vehicles via a "typical negotiation" deduction, a Washington federal court ruled, noting the plaintiffs provided "undisputed" evidence that State Farm violated the state's Consumer Protection Act.
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July 30, 2025
Davis Polk, King & Spalding Build $2.35B AccuLynx Sale
Data analytics and technology company Verisk, advised by Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP, on Wednesday announced plans to acquire software-as-a-service company AccuLynx, led by King & Spalding LLP, in a $2.35 billion cash deal.
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July 30, 2025
Wash. Condo Group Seeks $10M In Water Damage Coverage
A condominium association said its Country Financial insurers must provide coverage for an estimated $10.4 million in hidden water damage, telling a Washington federal court the insurers have failed to make a coverage determination in the two years since the association submitted its damage claim.Â
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July 29, 2025
Insurer Says Misrepresentations Void Real Estate Co.'s Policy
Material misrepresentations in a commercial real estate firm's insurance renewal application mean the insurer has no duty to defend the firm or a former director against a $6.5 million claim related to the sale of a client's properties, the insurer told an Indiana federal court.
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July 28, 2025
Electrolux Range's Defect Led To Fire, Insurer Tells Court
Three Electrolux companies manufactured ranges with a foreseeable defect that allowed the products to unintentionally activate, a property insurer told a Connecticut federal court as it sought to recover the claim payout for a homeowner's kitchen fire.
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July 28, 2025
Insurer Must Cover Runoff Settlement, Auto Co. Says
An automobile auction company told a Texas federal court that a Liberty Mutual unit must indemnify a settlement reached over underlying claims that the company caused storm water runoff in neighboring properties when it cleared several parcels of land for car and machinery storage.
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July 25, 2025
Nationwide Urges Mich. Justices To Let Unitary Tax Win Stand
Entities of Nationwide urged the Michigan Supreme Court to reject the state tax agency's arguments that the insurance company's affiliates are required to file taxes as separate entities instead of as a unitary group that can share credits among its members.
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July 24, 2025
Renewed Bid For National Reinsurer May Not Rein In Costs
A revamped legislative proposal to create a national reinsurer would significantly change the federal government's role in insurance markets, but experts say it's not clear that the program would effectively address insurance cost and availability issues.
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July 24, 2025
Lincoln National Beats Investor Suit Over $2.6B Loss, For Now
A Pennsylvania federal judge on Thursday tossed with leave to amend a proposed securities class action alleging that Lincoln National Corp. misled investors about its financial health before reporting a $2.6 billion net loss in 2022, finding that the investors didn't specify when Lincoln National had access to certain data and studies.
Expert Analysis
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Takeaways From Alaska Justices' Pollution Exclusion Ruling
A recent Alaska Supreme Court ruling that a total pollution exclusion in a homeowners policy didn't bar coverage for carbon monoxide poisoning shows that even when policy language appears unambiguous on its face, courts can still consider the reasonable expectations of an insured to determine applicability, say attorneys at Hunton.
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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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A Cold War-Era History Lesson On Due Process
The landmark Harry Bridges case from the mid-20th century Red Scare offers important insights on why lawyers must be free of government reprisal, no matter who their client is, says Peter Afrasiabi at One LLP.
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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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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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Reconciling 2 Smoke Coverage Cases From California
As highlighted by a California Department of Insurance bulletin clarifying the effect of two recent decisions on insurance coverage, the February state appellate ruling denying coverage for property damage from smoke, ash and soot should be viewed as an outlier, say attorneys at Reed Smith.
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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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How Fla. Is Floating A Raft Of Bills To Stem Insurance Woes
Proposed reforms that follow a report skewering Florida's insurance industry offer a step in the right direction in providing relief for property owners, despite some limitations, say attorneys at Farah & Farah.
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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 Calif.'s Wildfire Insurance Crisis Might Affect Texas
Attorneys at Munsch Hardt examine the implications of California's wildfire insurance crisis for Texas, including potential shifts in coverage availability, regulatory differences and how the insurers in the second-largest U.S. state may react to a major wildfire event.
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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.