Ore. Ski Areas Face High Insurance Costs, Carrier Withdrawal
Ski areas in Oregon are one of the latest industries to feel the strain of rising liability insurance costs, compounded by one of the state's insurance brokers leaving the market this fall, as operators are forced to weigh passing costs on to patrons as legislative reform stalls, experts told Law360.
Professor Highlights Climate Risks' Threats To Home Values
Climate perils have depressed home values in some of the riskiest real estate markets as insurers charge homeowners more for coverage to offset the cost of protecting against risks like hurricanes and fires, according to newly updated research. Here, Law360 talks to Philip Mulder, a risk and insurance professor, who updated a study tying insurance costs to climate risks to include more data and information on threats to home values.
Insurance Shifts Push Homeowners Toward Resilient Roofing
Increasingly devastating storms and more wide-ranging hail damage in areas that traditionally have not faced such perils are squeezing homeowners' insurers and pushing homeowners to look for ways to strengthen their homes and mitigate out-of-pocket costs. Jon Abernathy, director of contractor engagement for Tamko Building Products LLC, which manufactures reinforced roofing products, spoke to Law360 on the insurance concerns that factor into conversations about improved roofing products and maintenance.
Property More
An Illinois state appeals court affirmed the dismissal of a man's suit claiming two State Farm life insurers violated Illinois' genetic information privacy law, finding a section barring the use of genetic pro... (more story)
The Trump administration unlawfully terminated Federal Emergency Management Agency funds intended to pay for disaster mitigating projects, a Massachusetts federal judge ruled Thursday, describing the case as a... (more story)
Blackstone Credit & Insurance said Thursday that it has reached a $1 billion partnership with small business lender Harvest Commercial Capital to acquire business loans secured by first-lien mortgages on owner... (more story)
AMC can seek coverage for a $99.3 million stock settlement with theater chain shareholders, two AIG units needn't cover a firearms retailer accused of contributing to gun violence, and a home insurer must cove... (more story)
A split Fifth Circuit reversed a Texas federal court's decision undoing a jury verdict that put a home insurer on the hook for a $1 million injury settlement between a man who became a quadriplegic after takin... (more story)
The Fifth Circuit on Monday overturned a lower court order compelling a southern Louisiana town to arbitrate a dispute over coverage for hurricane damage in light of a state law that expressly prohibits arbitr... (more story)
A power plant owner hit Factory Mutual Insurance Co. with a suit in New York federal court alleging the insurer wrongly withheld at least $14 million in coverage for lost revenue following an outage.
A North Carolina federal judge trimmed two of four claims in a COVID-related insurance coverage lawsuit filed by four restaurants against Cincinnati Insurance Co. after the insurer denied coverage for financia... (more story)
The Eleventh Circuit's recent worker classification decision in Galarza v. One Call Claims, reversing a finding that insurance adjusters were independent contractors, should remind companies to analyze the act... (more story)
The Eleventh Circuit said a State Farm unit doesn’t owe $1 million for a gas station shooting, a California federal court gave its final sign-off to a $4 million settlement between Allstate and home insurance ... (more story)
General Liability More
Publix Super Markets and a Georgia-based generic-drug wholesaler urged the Eleventh Circuit on Thursday to force their insurers to defend them in numerous lawsuits accusing the pharmacies of improperly distrib... (more story)
A general contractor can't recover $5.8 million from a subcontractor's Liberty Mutual insurer for an arbitration award over defective work on a naval base project, a Florida federal court ruled Monday, finding... (more story)
An insurance company is arguing it has no obligation to defend two Washington retail smoke shops facing a lawsuit by a father who claims they sold kratom products that killed his son, telling a federal court t... (more story)
A Jewish nonprofit organization isn't entitled to coverage for a fraudulent $7.5 million wire transfer, a Maryland federal court ruled, finding that its policy's extended reporting period was not active when i... (more story)
The father of a mass shooter said his home insurer failed to serve him timely with a suit seeking to avoid coverage for an underlying action brought by the shooting victims and family members of decedents, tel... (more story)
A New York federal court handed Mt. Hawley Insurance Co. a complete win over a Bronx property owner's claim that the insurer had a duty to defend it from a suit brought by a security guard who tripped in a Cit... (more story)
A mortgage insurance company has agreed to pay $650,000 to close a worker's proposed class action filed in North Carolina federal court claiming its mismanagement of an employee retirement profit sharing plan ... (more story)
Allstate hit a Florida medical practice and its owner with a Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act complaint alleging the owner ran an insurance billing scheme for pain management care in violatio... (more story)
Companies hired to construct a grain drying, handling and storage facility on a Mississippi farm are responsible for more than $946,000 in damage caused by the system's collapse, the farm operator's insurer to... (more story)
A growing number of cases illustrate the potential for misuse of artificial intelligence tools by experts in litigation, resulting in reports with hallucinated information or unexplainable analysis, so to embr... (more story)
Specialty Lines More
Two AIG units have no duty to defend or indemnify a Texas-based firearm retailer accused of contributing to gun violence by selling unfinished components used to assemble what are known as ghost guns, the Seco... (more story)
A Texas bankruptcy judge has found that a directors and officers liability insurer was wrong to refuse a reasonable $4.65 million settlement demand from the trustee overseeing the wind-down of former cryptocur... (more story)
Trends and statistics reveal that law firms of all sizes and practice areas remained attractive litigation targets this year, so firms must take concrete steps to avoid professional liability risks in the year... (more story)
A British insurance company wrongfully denied excess directors and officers coverage for underlying securities fraud litigation, AmTrust says in a suit filed in New York federal court Monday, saying the insure... (more story)
A New Jersey pharmaceutical company and Chubb have reached a settlement to end a lawsuit alleging the insurer owes nearly $6.5 million in outstanding legal fees stemming from a multibillion-dollar arbitration ... (more story)
The University of Georgia Athletic Association recently sought to compel arbitration against former UGA football player Damon Wilson in a first-of-its-kind legal action for breach of a name, image and likeness... (more story)
A Connecticut-based medical device technology company told a federal court that its insurer wrongfully denied coverage for an investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission, alleging in a new lawsuit ... (more story)
An insurance company accused by Marsh & McLennan Agency of poaching an employee has asked a Manhattan federal judge to dismiss Marsh's suit, saying the court had no jurisdiction because the claims had not been... (more story)
An electrical subcontractor asked a Virginia federal court to help it collect nearly $750,000 from Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance Co. under a payment bond for work at a Navy facility in Chesapeake.
A Berkshire Hathaway unit must cover Liberty Insurance Underwriters Inc.'s portion of a $21.3 million jury award in a personal injury case, Liberty said in a new federal complaint, arguing the unit unreasonabl... (more story)