ÃÛÌÒÊÓÆµ

Insurance

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • July 30, 2025

    Fla. RV Park's Suit Against Insurance Broker Revived

    A Florida appeals court on Wednesday revived a recreational vehicle park's claims that its insurance broker failed to get comprehensive insurance coverage and left the park owner on the hook for more than $1 million in hurricane damage to its RV hookup towers.

  • July 30, 2025

    Insurer Atty 'Error' Dooms Arbitration Bid In Fla. Injury Suit

    A Florida appellate court on Wednesday agreed with a trial court that a West Palm Beach prep school has abandoned its right to arbitrate cheerleading injury claims brought by a student by filing a response to the complaint, rejecting the school's argument that its insurer-provided lawyer was unauthorized to represent it.

  • 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.

  • 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. 

  • July 30, 2025

    Calif. Health Group Says Insurer Must Cover Discovery Costs

    California's largest private health foundation told a federal court that a Berkshire Hathaway-owned insurer failed to cover roughly $400,000 in discovery costs the foundation incurred from an executive's now-settled wrongful termination lawsuit, arguing the insurer breached its obligations despite accepting coverage twice.

  • July 30, 2025

    Landlords Not Covered For Lead Exposure Suit, Insurer Says

    An insurer has no duty to defend or indemnify property owners accused of negligently renting out an apartment with hazardous levels of lead that injured a child, the carrier told an Illinois federal court, saying the owners' policy bars coverage for bodily injury caused by lead.

  • July 29, 2025

    Email Hack Info Dooms Coverage Bid For Fraudulent Payment

    A trial court that excused a construction management company's insurer from covering a $673,000 reimbursement claim otherwise characterized as a negligent contract breach was right to let a company representative's unreferenced summary about an email hack factor into its decision, a split Illinois appellate panel said Monday.

  • July 29, 2025

    9th Circ. Rescinds Ruling On Wash. Abortion Coverage Law

    A Ninth Circuit panel has walked back a published March opinion rejecting a Christian church's challenge to a Washington state law mandating employer health coverage of abortion services, saying in a Tuesday order that the federal appeals court would issue a new ruling following additional oral arguments.

  • July 29, 2025

    Travelers Gets Trim Of Ex-Worker's Tobacco Health Fee Suit

    A Minnesota federal judge pared down claims Tuesday from a former Travelers worker's suit alleging the insurance and financial services company unlawfully imposed a surcharge on the health plans of employees who disclosed they were tobacco users and thereby violated nondiscrimination provisions in federal benefits law.

  • July 29, 2025

    UnitedHealth Urges 6th Circ. To Affirm ERISA Preemption

    UnitedHealth Group Inc. urged the Sixth Circuit to affirm the dismissal of a man's claims that UnitedHealth defrauded him into reimbursing the health insurance giant for $25,000, arguing that the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 completely preempts such claims brought under state law.

  • July 29, 2025

    Allianz Owes Coverage For Hot Air Balloon Crash Suits

    An Allianz insurer has a duty to defend and indemnify a hot air balloon company facing multiple suits over crashes that injured several passengers under the policy's balloon premises liability coverage, a Wyoming federal court ruled Tuesday.

  • July 29, 2025

    No Coverage For $2.5M Herbicide Damage Row, Court Says

    An AIG unit has no duty to cover an air services company in a contractor's lawsuit alleging that its aerial application of herbicides caused $2.5 million in expenses to fix grass damage, a New York federal court ruled Tuesday, finding no coverage under both of the company's policies.

  • July 29, 2025

    Symetra Gets Final OK On $2.1M Structured Settlement Suit

    A Washington federal judge has given final approval to a $2.175 million deal to end allegations that insurance conglomerate Symetra tricked structured settlement recipients into trading their long-term payments for a heavily discounted lump sum.

  • July 29, 2025

    6th Circ. Upholds Blue Cross Win In Mich. Tribal Fraud Dispute

    A Sixth Circuit panel has affirmed Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan's defeat of the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians' lawsuit alleging the insurer caused the tribe's health plan to overpay for treatment.

  • 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.

  • July 29, 2025

    Rochester Diocese Judge To Approve $246M Ch. 11 Plan

    A New York bankruptcy judge said Tuesday he was prepared to approve the Roman Catholic Diocese of Rochester's $246.4 million settlement of abuse claims in Chapter 11 after survivors voted unanimously to accept the deal.

  • July 28, 2025

    Patent Damages Explode As Practice Areas See Wild Swings

    Damages in plaintiff-won federal patent cases have soared in the past decade while those in environmental cases and some other types of civil litigation have plummeted, a new report from Lex Machina shows.

  • July 28, 2025

    Insurers Sued Over Refusal To Cover Arbitration Defense

    Institutional financial services venture StoneX Group Inc. sued XL Specialty Insurance Co., Ironshore Indemnity Inc. and others in Delaware state court, alleging multiple unjustified refusals to provide defense coverage in arbitration over trade secret and no-compete violations by five employees.

  • 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.

  • July 28, 2025

    Gun Exclusion Prevents Coverage For Ga. Bar Shooting Suits

    An insurer has no duty to defend or indemnify a bar against underlying suits over a shooting that injured several patrons, a Georgia federal court ruled, finding that a firearms exclusion in the bar's commercial general liability policy precludes coverage.

  • July 28, 2025

    Insurer Seeks Exit From Privacy Suit Against Optometry Clinic

    A Hartford unit told an Illinois federal court it should owe no coverage for a proposed class action accusing an optometry practice of violating patients' privacy rights by transmitting their sensitive information to Alphabet Inc., arguing a raft of exclusions apply.

  • July 28, 2025

    Broker's Countersuit Says Ex-Worker Tried To Poach Clients

    An insurance brokerage being sued by an ex-employee who says his former boss broke a promise to sell him a local agency alleges in its own Pennsylvania state court lawsuit that the employee had actually been scheming to steal clients from the brokerage and take them to a new firm.

Expert Analysis

  • 10 Soft Skills Every GC Should Master

    Author Photo

    As businesses face shifting regulatory and technological uncertainty, general counsel will need to strengthen certain soft skills to succeed, from admitting when they make a mistake to maintaining a healthy dose of dispassion, says Douglas Brown at Manatt.

  • An Unrestrained, Bright-Eyed View Of Legal AI's Future

    Author Photo

    Todd Itami at Covington offers a bright-eyed, laughing-all-the-way, skydive look at what the legal industry could look like after an artificial intelligence revolution, which he believes may happen much sooner and more dramatically than we expect.

  • Tracking The Evolution In Litigation Finance

    Author Photo

    Despite continued innovation, litigation finance remains an immature market with borrowers recieving significantly different terms as lenders learn to value cases, which firms need a strong handle on to ensure lending terms do not overwhelm collateral value, says Robert Wilkins at Lightfoot Franklin.

  • Opinion

    Asbestos Trusts' Records Purge Threatens Claims Process

    Author Photo

    Recent announcements by 11 asbestos bankruptcy trusts that they plan to destroy legacy data and documents related to resolved claims risks further damage to the integrity of a compensation system long marked by a lack of oversight and transparency, says Peter Kelso at Roux.

  • How Calif., NY Could Fill Consumer Finance Regulatory Void

    Author Photo

    California and New York have historically taken the lead in consumer financial protection, and both show signs of becoming even more active in this area during the second Trump administration amid an enforcement pullback at the federal level, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • Series

    Volunteer Firefighting Makes Me A Better Lawyer

    Author Photo

    While practicing corporate law and firefighting may appear incongruous, the latter benefits my legal career by reminding me of the importance of humility, perspective and education, says Nicholas Passaro at Ford.

  • Takeaways From Alaska Justices' Pollution Exclusion Ruling

    Author Photo

    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.

  • E-Discovery Quarterly: The Perils Of Digital Data Protocols

    Author Photo

    Though stipulated protocols governing the treatment of electronically stored information in litigation are meant to streamline discovery, recent disputes demonstrate that certain missteps in the process can lead to significant inefficiencies, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Preparing For Corporate Work

    Author Photo

    Law school often doesn't cover the business strategy, financial fluency and negotiation skills needed for a successful corporate or transactional law practice, but there are practical ways to gain relevant experience and achieve the mindset shifts critical to a thriving career in this space, says Dakota Forsyth at Olshan Frome.

  • Strategies To Help Witnesses Manage Deposition Anxiety

    Author Photo

    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.

  • 5 Insurance Types For Mitigating Tariff-Related Trade Losses

    Author Photo

    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.

  • Strategizing For Renewable Energy Project Success In Texas

    Author Photo

    The Electric Reliability Council of Texas has long been a key market for renewable energy projects, but rising financial and regulatory uncertainty means that developers and investors must prepare for inflation and policy risks, secure robust insurance coverage, and leverage tax equity transferability to ensure success, say attorneys at McDermott.

  • A Cold War-Era History Lesson On Due Process

    Author Photo

    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.

  • Home Depot Ruling Tolls Death Knell For 'Silent Cyber'

    Author Photo

    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.

  • Series

    Improv Makes Me A Better Lawyer

    Author Photo

    Improv keeps me grounded and connected to what matters most, including in my legal career where it has helped me to maintain a balance between being analytical, precise and professional, and creative, authentic and open-minded, says Justine Gottshall at InfoLawGroup.

Want to publish in Law360?


Submit an idea

Have a news tip?


Contact us here
Can't find the article you're looking for? Click here to search the Insurance archive.