Expert Analysis

Trial Advocacy Lessons From 3 Oscar-Nominated Films

Several films up for best picture at this weekend’s Academy Awards provide useful tips for trial lawyers, from the... (more story)

Can Trump's AI Order Override State Insurance Rules?

Although a December executive order charts a course to potentially dismantle state artificial intelligence regulat... (more story)

Calif. Case Could Lead To A Redefined Pollution Exclusion

In recently agreeing to hear Montrose Chemical v. Superior Court, the California Supreme Court will decide whether... (more story)

Property More

Tanger Asks NC Justices Not To Review COVID Coverage Suit

Two insurers failed to establish an error justifying review from the North Carolina Supreme Court of a decision allowing Tanger Factory Outlet Centers Inc. to seek $50 million in pandemic-related coverage, the... (more story)

Insurance Litigation Week In Review

A long-term care insurance provider is entitled to $45 million in coverage for premium increase suits, a group of insurers don't owe coverage for a Georgia school's $345 million sexual abuse settlement, and Ge... (more story)

Insurer Demands $3.6M Repayment From Conn. City Over Fire

Pennsylvania Manufacturers Association Insurance Co. is asking the city of New Haven, Connecticut, to repay nearly $3.6 million for settling two lawsuits surrounding the deaths of two rooming house residents i... (more story)

Insurers Ask NC Justices To Review COVID Coverage Suit

Two insurers urged the North Carolina Supreme Court to hear their appeal challenging a lower court's holding that North Carolina law applies to Tanger Outlets' suit seeking more than $50 million in pandemic-re... (more story)

Insurance Pool Says No Extra Coverage For City's Hail Claim

A municipal self-insurance pool has filed suit in Colorado state court seeking a finding that it owes no additional coverage beyond the nearly $1 million it already paid for hail damage claimed by a Yuma Count... (more story)

Fla. Court Allows Chubb's Salvage Claim On Stolen Planes

Chubb European Group SE can move forward with a counterclaim against an aircraft leasing company that alleges the insurer can claim 23 Boeing and Airbus aircraft stolen by Russia at the start of the Ukraine wa... (more story)

Insurance Litigation Week In Review

Law360 Insurance Authority looks at the past week's top insurance news.

Chubb, BJ's Wholesale Sued Over Proxy Ballot Exclusions

Chubb Ltd. and BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings Inc. have been hit with shareholder suits over their moves to exclude certain proposals from their proxy ballots this year after other corporations facing similar li... (more story)

Insurer, Fla. Condo Owners Settle Hurricane Coverage Dispute

Westchester Surplus Lines Insurance Co. and multiple Florida homeowners associations have ended their dispute in Florida federal court over the associations' more than $230 million insurance claim for Pensacol... (more story)

False Positive Blocks $50M COVID Coverage Bid, Court Told

An insurer said an auto parts manufacturer can't get $50 million in coverage for COVID-19 losses, telling a North Carolina federal court the company concealed that an employee's positive test result was false ... (more story)

General Liability More

Insurers Say Prairie Farms' Policies Don't Cover $191M Verdict

Berkeley National Insurance Co. and a Sompo International unit told an Illinois federal judge Thursday that excess liability policies they issued to Prairie Farms do not cover a $191.5 million punitive damages... (more story)

Drug Co. Moves To Sanction Insurer Over Destroyed Evidence

A drug wholesaler seeking coverage for underlying opioid litigation urged an Illinois federal court to sanction its insurer for destroying key emails and underwriting records, saying the carrier failed to upda... (more story)

Insurer Asks NC Justices To Free It From Captive Carrier Row

A Georgia insurance company told North Carolina's highest court that the state's Business Court doesn't have jurisdiction over it in a shareholder dispute over the demise of a defunct captive insurer, arguing ... (more story)

Chubb Unit Can't Tag Excess Insurer For $100M Settlement

The Georgia Court of Appeals rejected an attempt by a Chubb unit to share liability with an excess insurer for coverage of a $100 million settlement between a boat manufacturer and the family of a boy who died... (more story)

Insurer Can Limit Coverage For Gym's Sex Misconduct Suits

A commercial general liability insurer can only owe a maximum of $100,000 in total for abuse alleged in four lawsuits against a gym for a personal trainer's sexual misconduct, a Tennessee federal court ruled, ... (more story)

Pot Exclusion Blocks Coverage For Explosion Suit

An Oregon federal judge has ruled in favor of a Liberty Mutual unit, finding that it owes no coverage to defendants in a suit over a fatal gas leak explosion because of the marijuana exclusion in the policy.

Auto Insurer Gets NYC Construction Injury Dispute Tossed

A New York City contractor has no standing to sue its auto insurer over the carrier's coverage obligations to the city in a personal injury suit, a federal court ruled, saying the company is not a party to the... (more story)

Insurers Off The Hook For Ga. School's $345M Sex Abuse Deal

Four insurance companies don't have to cover a $345 million sexual abuse settlement between a private school and nearly two dozen former students, the Georgia Court of Appeals said Friday, ruling that they wer... (more story)

Ad.com Says Insurer Owes Defense Of TM Suit

An Arizona insurer wrongfully refused to insure the interactive advertising company Ad.com against a trademark lawsuit from a pair of technology companies accusing the advertiser of stealing their brand identi... (more story)

4th Circ. Allows Insurer To Seek Arbitration In Foam Case

The Fourth Circuit on Wednesday overturned an order barring Illinois Union Insurance Co. from seeking to arbitrate in London a dispute within multidistrict litigation over alleged contamination from firefighti... (more story)

Specialty Lines More

FDIC Owns SVB Insurance Claims, Court Told

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., as receiver for Silicon Valley Bank after its historic collapse in early 2023, is entitled to recover on what could be tens of millions of dollars in financial institution ... (more story)

Del. Ruling Sparks Retrial On Conduent's $236M Coverage Bid

A Delaware court sets the stage for a high-stakes retrial in a coverage dispute over a $236 million Medicaid settlement. 

Incora Sues Over $30M D&O Insurance In Ch. 11 Uptier Fight

Bankrupt aircraft parts maker Incora has sued several of its insurers for coverage of legal costs incurred by the debtor in a dispute over a prepetition uptier transaction, saying it is owed $30 million under ... (more story)

Hospital Revenue Co. Not Covered In $8M Loss Suit, AIG Says

An AIG unit said it has no duty to defend or indemnify a management company accused of causing $8 million in losses to a South Carolina nonprofit hospital system, telling a Texas federal court that the company... (more story)

Firm, Atty Say Insurer Can't Stop Covering Ponzi Scheme Suits

A Maryland law firm and attorney accused in two underlying actions of aiding a Ponzi scheme have sued their professional liability insurer in federal court, saying the carrier has wrongfully declined to contin... (more story)

Insurer's Cyber Liability Capped At $250K, Texas Court Finds

A Texas federal court ruled that an insurer has no further liability beyond a $250,000 policy limit it paid to a construction company for its losses stemming from a social engineering cyber theft incident.

Del. Justices Affirm Genworth's Coverage For Premium Suits

A long-term care insurance provider accused of hiking premiums without notifying customers may recover $45 million in coverage plus millions in pre- and post-judgment interest from its professional liability i... (more story)

PFAS Risks In M&A Amid Litigation, Legislative Developments

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances have become a significant M&A concern amid new trends in settlements and state laws, and potential buyers must find ways to evaluate potential related risks, say attorneys at Debevoise.

Insurer Seeks Win In $6.3M Coverage Row With Pot Tester

James River Insurance Co. is asking a Mississippi federal court to grant it a win in its suit to deny coverage of a $6.3 million default judgment against a cannabis testing company, saying the company breached... (more story)

NC Judge Trims Co.'s $116M Investment Coverage Dispute

A North Carolina state court has trimmed a company's suit claiming that its insurer obstructed its recovery of more than $116 million in coverage for an investment that didn't pay out on time, tossing a breach... (more story)