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Property

  • July 24, 2025

    Silica Injury Claims Reemerge As Pollutant Trend To Watch

    In what is considered by some as “the next asbestos,” lawsuits alleging injury due to silica exposure are ramping up and the way in which they unfold may bring coverage questions under commercial general liability policies center stage, policyholder attorney Jeff Kiburtz of Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP told Law360. Here, he shares his optimism for policyholders' success in litigating these claims and why he believes this topic is one to watch in the CGL industry.

  • July 24, 2025

    Insurer Asks 4th Circ. To Nix $1.1M Roof Damage Verdict

    An insurer specializing in covering religious organizations asked the Fourth Circuit to set aside a $1.1 million jury verdict it faces over roof damage that a North Carolina church said was caused by snow, arguing the lower court's jury instructions adopted the wrong causation standard.

  • July 24, 2025

    Insurance Litigation Week In Review

    The Second Circuit ruled that a former New York state official is immune from the National Rifle Association's First Amendment suit, the Eighth Circuit said a Minnesota bar isn't entitled to nearly $2 million for an arson, and the Eleventh Circuit affirmed a Georgia church's $1.75 million coverage win. Here, Law360 takes a look at the past week's top insurance news.

  • July 23, 2025

    8th Circ. Denies Bar Owner Coverage For Ex-Husband's Arson

    An insurer for a Minnesota bar has no duty to cover a nearly $2 million fire intentionally caused by one of the owners, the Eighth Circuit ruled, rejecting the other co-owner's argument that the "innocent co-insured doctrine" extended to the bar's corresponding corporate entities.

  • July 22, 2025

    9th Circ. Rejects Gun Club's Bid For Permitting Cost Coverage

    An insurer for a Washington shooting club had no duty to cover roughly $400,000 in costs to secure proper site development permits after county officials won a public nuisance lawsuit against the club, the Ninth Circuit ruled, finding the club can't be covered for its deliberate actions.

  • July 21, 2025

    Insurer Can't Get New Trial After $1.75M Loss, 11th Circ. Says

    The Eleventh Circuit on Monday upheld a $1.75 million verdict a Georgia church won against its insurance company in a storm damage coverage dispute, ruling that the insurer largely abandoned its defenses against the judgment before the case ever landed in front of the appellate panel.

  • July 18, 2025

    Law360 Names 2025's Top Attorneys Under 40

    Law360 is pleased to announce the Rising Stars of 2025, our list of more than 150 attorneys under 40 whose legal accomplishments belie their age.

  • July 17, 2025

    Top Legal Developments That Could Impact LA Fire Aftermath

    While the full consequences of a series of devastating wildfires that struck Los Angeles in January are still becoming clear, insurance experts and attorneys have pointed to a series of lawsuits and decisions as having important implications for the city's recovery.

  • July 17, 2025

    Insurer Says No Coverage For $1.7M Apartment Damage

    A property insurer for an apartment complex owner told a Washington federal court it owes no coverage for a "wind-driven rain" claim that the owner said totals more than $1.7 million in repair costs, alleging that the owner's prior insurer already denied coverage for the same claim.

  • July 17, 2025

    Insurance Litigation Week In Review

    Florida's insurer of last resort was hit with a lawsuit over its use of arbitration, an insurer sought to limit its coverage exposure for 175 silica injury lawsuits to a single policy and the Ninth Circuit issued a no-coverage ruling concerning a $58.5 million judgment over mishandled bodily remains. Here, Law360 takes a look at the past week's top insurance news.

  • July 17, 2025

    Mass Deportations Could Raise Insurance Costs, Profs Say

    The Trump administration's mass deportation program could increase costs for insurance carriers and homeowners by reducing the number of undocumented immigrants so critical to the construction industry, business and insurance professors say.

  • July 16, 2025

    Travelers Avoids Bad Faith Claim In Yacht Damage Dispute

    A Travelers unit did not act in bad faith when handling a yacht owner's claim for coverage after its yacht was destroyed during Hurricane Irma, a Florida federal court ruled Wednesday, saying, at the time, it was unclear whether Florida law or federal maritime law applied.

  • July 16, 2025

    Insurer Says LA Property Owner's Coverage Capped At $1.8M

    An insurer said it has paid all benefits owed to a property owner seeking an additional $2.1 million in coverage for fire damage, telling a California federal court Wednesday that the owner is trying to hold it responsible for its own failure to adequately insure the property.

  • July 15, 2025

    Calif. Homeowners Win Cert. In State Farm Underpayment Suit

    A California federal court certified a class of nearly 200,000 homeowners alleging State Farm systematically underpaid property insurance claims in violation of the state's insurance code, ruling Tuesday that the plaintiffs offered a feasible methodology for calculating damages classwide and demonstrated that class members are identifiable.

  • July 15, 2025

    Medicaid Cuts Pose 'Frontal Assault,' Penn Law Prof Says

    Allison K. Hoffman, a health insurance regulation expert at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School, talks about the wide-ranging impacts of the cuts coming to Medicaid funding.

  • July 15, 2025

    These Firms Worked On The Top First-Half Real Estate Deals

    A&O Shearman and Stibbe are among the more than 20 law firms that scored work on the 10 largest global real estate mergers and acquisitions of the first half, a period that saw three transactions above $4 billion.

  • July 15, 2025

    State Farm 'Maliciously' Denied Property Coverage, Court Told

    A California property owner accused State Farm of "maliciously" denying its property insurance claim in a lawsuit removed to federal court, further alleging that the insurer intentionally ignored evidence of the extent of the property damage.

  • July 11, 2025

    Homeowners Must Take Water Damage Coverage Suit To Trial

    A suit brought by Illinois homeowners seeking more than $5 million in coverage for damage caused by a burst pipe during an extreme temperature drop is headed to trial after an Illinois federal court found that too many issues of material fact remain unresolved.

  • July 11, 2025

    Florida Insurer Sued For Alleged Bias In Arbitration Process

    A 92-year-old Miami resident has brought a petition against one of Florida's largest property insurers over redirecting disputes away from courts and into state arbitration hearings, described as forums with biased administrative law judges who shield the company from legal liability. 

  • July 11, 2025

    7th Circ. Affirms End To Vandalism Dispute Over Key Records

    The Seventh Circuit upheld discovery sanctions against an Indianapolis hotel owner after an Indiana federal court found it repeatedly failed to hand over records relating to whether the property was deemed "vacant" per the terms of its property insurance policy with a Liberty Mutual unit.

  • July 10, 2025

    Top General Liability Rulings From The First Half Of 2025

    Federal courts have handed down big wins for insurers, finding that they needn't cover claims related to a Home Depot data breach and opioid litigation brought against Publix, as well as issuing rulings favoring carriers in disputes over so-called ghost guns and PFAS-related litigation. Here, Law360 breaks down the top commercial general liability rulings from the first half of 2025.

  • July 10, 2025

    Texas Floods Highlight Risk Of Climate Cuts, Low Coverage

    A series of deadly floods in Texas Hill Country over the July 4 weekend underscore the danger of rollbacks and threats to federal programs for disaster relief and climate monitoring, while also showing the need for greater flood coverage uptake to avoid longer-term economic challenges. 

  • July 10, 2025

    Property Co. Says State Farm Wrongfully Delayed Fire Claim

    A State Farm unit acted in bad faith by unreasonably delaying and denying coverage for a fire that damaged a downtown Denver property more than two years ago, the property owner said in a suit removed to Colorado federal court.

  • July 10, 2025

    Insurance Litigation Week In Review

    Michigan's top court found that claims over personal injury protection coverage can be revived after they are transferred to third parties, the Eighth Circuit relieved a Chubb insurer from having to split an underlying $2 million settlement and the Fourth Circuit revived a South Carolina builder's condo repair coverage dispute. Here, Law360 takes a look at the past week's top insurance news.

  • July 10, 2025

    Judge Preserves Meritage Stucco Defect Coverage Claims

    A Texas federal judge largely sided with Meritage Homes in a lawsuit to force AIG to cover $11 million paid out to hundreds of homeowners that complained of construction defects on stucco homes in Texas and Florida.

Expert Analysis

  • Managing Anti-Corporate Juror Views Revealed By CEO Killing

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    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.

  • Notable Q4 Updates In Insurance Class Actions

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    In a continuation of trends in property and casualty insurance class actions, last quarter insurers struggled with defending the merits and class certification of sales tax and fee suits, and labor depreciation cases, but succeeded in dismissing privacy class actions at the pleading stages, says Mathew Drocton at BakerHostetler.

  • Evidence Rule May Expand Use Of Out-Of-Court Statements

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    A proposed amendment to Federal Rule of Evidence 801(d)(1)(A) would broaden the definition of nonhearsay, reflects a more pragmatic approach to regulating the admissibility of out-of-court statements by declarant-witnesses, and could help level the playing field between prosecutors and criminal defendants, say attorneys at Hangley Aronchick.

  • The Math Of Cross-Examination: Less Is More, More Is Less

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    When conducting cross-examination at trial, attorneys should remember that “less is more, and more is less” — limiting both the scope of questioning and the length of each query in order to control the witness’s testimony and keep the factfinders’ attention, says Thomas Innes at the Defender Association of Philadelphia.

  • Rethinking 'No Comment' For Clients Facing Public Crises

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    “No comment” is no longer a cost-free or even a viable public communications strategy for companies in crisis, and counsel must tailor their guidance based on a variety of competing factors to help clients emerge successfully, says Robert Bowers at Moore & Van Allen.

  • Navigating Mortgage Insurance Provisions After LA Fires

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    As homeowners affected by the Los Angeles wildfires consider rebuilding, mortgage lenders and servicers must negotiate the complex intersection between the standard deed of trust and property insurance, says Heather Wright at Buchalter.

  • Year Of The Snake Will Shake Up RE And Mortgage Finance

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    The year ahead may bring profound transformation and opportunities for growth in the real estate and mortgage finance sectors, with significant issues including policy battles and questions surrounding the future of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, says Marty Green at Polunsky Beitel.

  • 5 Argument Techniques For Policyholder Advocates

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    Winning insurance coverage disputes often comes down to who has articulated the more compelling interpretation of the relevant policy language, which is why the best policyholder advocates come back to certain tried and true argument approaches, says Greg Van Houten at Haynes Boone.

  • Improving Comms Between Trial Attys And Tech Witnesses

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    In major litigation involving complex technology, attorneys should employ certain strategies to collaborate with companies' technical personnel more effectively to enhance both the attorney's understanding of the subject matter and the expert's ability to provide effective testimony in court, say attorneys at Buchalter.

  • A View Of The Shifting Insurance Regulatory Landscape

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    Attorneys at Eversheds Sutherland explore how the Federal Insurance Office's climate report, the new presidential administration and the California wildfires might affect the insurance regulatory landscape.

  • Courts Should Nix Conferencing Rule In 1 Discovery Scenario

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    Parties are generally required to meet and confer to resolve a discovery dispute before bringing a related motion, but courts should dispense with this conferencing requirement when a party fails to specify a time by which it will complete its production, says Tristan Ellis at Shanies Law.

  • Illuminating The Trend Of Florida's Unpaid Hurricane Claims

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    The sheer number of insurance claims closed without payment for damage caused by Hurricanes Milton and Helene reveals a systemic problem within Florida's insurance industry exacerbated by complex issues, including climate change and state regulators' resource limitations, say attorneys at Farah & Farah.

  • Top Considerations For Insurance Companies In 2025

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    As insurance industry participants look to plan for the year, regulatory changes, climate-related challenges, the ongoing effects of social inflation and the potential for significant mergers and acquisitions will be among the key items for insurer boards and management to have on their radar, say attorneys at Debevoise.

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