General Liability
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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.
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July 16, 2025
Bojangles Insurer Must Cover Settled Rape Suit, Court Rules
A Bojangles franchisee's insurer had a duty to cover it in a now-settled civil lawsuit alleging that a manager at one of the franchisee's locations raped an employee who was a minor, a Georgia federal court ruled Wednesday, finding that one of two coverage forms at issue was triggered.
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July 15, 2025
Insurers Prevail In $59M Mishandled Remains Row At 9th Circ.
Two insurers for a provider of medical training have no duty to cover a $58.5 million civil judgment against a man found liable for mishandling donated bodily remains, the Ninth Circuit ruled Tuesday, though also allowing the underlying claimants to still pursue bad faith claims against the insurers.
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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.
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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.
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July 14, 2025
Assault Exclusion Bars Drywall Co.'s Murder Coverage Bid
A drywall company's insurer has no duty to cover the business in a pending wrongful death lawsuit over a woman's murder, a Texas federal court ruled Monday, saying that both "common sense" and a "plethora of caselaw" support its finding that an assault and battery exclusion applies.
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July 14, 2025
Insurer Seeks $1M Coverage Cap Over 175 Silica Suits
An insurer for a manufacturer of countertops told a New York federal court that only one primary environmental liability policy it issued applies to roughly 175 lawsuits seeking damages for exposure to silica, pointing to "deemer provisions" relating to coverage for "progressive or indivisible" bodily injury.
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July 14, 2025
BNSF Can't Toss Indemnity Claim In Flood Coverage Suit
Two Travelers insurers may proceed with their claim that they have no duty to indemnify railway giant BNSF in a suit alleging that a track relocation project the company undertook caused significant flooding on a property owner's land, a California federal court ruled Monday.
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July 14, 2025
Insurer Needn't Defend Texas Ranch In Horse Abuse Suit
An insurer has no duty to defend an equestrian facility against claims that its negligence contributed to the injury, neglect, and even death, of horses that were kept on its property, a Texas federal court ruled, reserving any ruling on the insurer's duty to indemnify for a later date.
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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.
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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.
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July 10, 2025
9th Circ. Backs Geico Win In COVID Auto Rebate Class Action
The Ninth Circuit affirmed Geico's victory in a certified class action alleging it owed additional refunds to drivers who overpaid their auto insurance premiums during COVID-19 stay-home orders, ruling on Wednesday that Geico charged rates that were previously approved by California's insurance commissioner, which bars the plaintiff's state Unfair Competition Law claim.
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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.
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July 09, 2025
Costco Says Insurer Owes Defense In Heavy Box Injury Suit
A Hartford unit violated Washington state's Insurance Fair Conduct Act by unreasonably denying additional insured coverage for a man's lawsuit alleging he suffered severe injuries when moving a product at Costco, the retail giant alleged in a lawsuit recently removed to Washington federal court.
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July 09, 2025
Insurer Rejects Coverage For Ind. Federal Antitrust Suit
An insurer for a digging and pipe services company told an Indiana federal court it should owe no coverage for a civil antitrust lawsuit, pointing in part to an exclusion barring coverage for "personal and advertising injury" arising from the "access or disclosure of confidential or personal information."
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July 09, 2025
Transport Co. Not Covered In Crash Suits, Judge Says
A transportation company is not entitled to coverage for personal injury suits stemming from a crash involving a trucking shipment, a Pennsylvania federal court has ruled, saying coverage is excluded because the company was listed on the bill of lading for the shipment.
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July 08, 2025
Exclusion's Use Of 'The' Supports Alt. Reading, 5th Circ. Says
The Fifth Circuit said an exclusion barring coverage for intellectual property infringement claims didn't necessarily relieve an insurer from covering defense expenses an oil and gas company incurred in an IP theft lawsuit, finding the exclusion's use of "the" led to a pro-coverage, reasonable meaning.
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July 08, 2025
Oil Cos.' Water Pollution Coverage Suit Gets Trimmed
Two oil and gas companies can't proceed with bad faith claims against certain underwriters at Lloyd's of London in a dispute over coverage for the remediation of water byproduct pollution, a New Mexico federal court ruled, saying the companies failed to allege facts supporting their claims.
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July 07, 2025
Hartford Says No Coverage For General Store's GIPA Row
A Hartford unit told an Illinois federal court that it does not owe a general store coverage for claims that the company violated the state's genetic information privacy law by conditioning employment on disclosing genetic information.
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July 07, 2025
4th Circ. Revives SC Builder's Bid For Condo Repair Coverage
A Charleston builder will get a second chance at recouping the money it spent repairing a condo complex that flooded after the Fourth Circuit on Monday partially vacated a pretrial win favoring its insurer, finding there are still unanswered questions about whether certain costs might be covered under its policy.
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July 07, 2025
Well Co. Says Contractor, Liberty Units Must Cover Injury Suit
A well site operator is entitled to defense and indemnity for an underlying injury suit brought by a contractor's employee, the operator told a Texas federal court, saying the contractor and its Liberty Mutual insurers have wrongfully refused coverage.
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July 07, 2025
Mich. Justices Say PIP Claims Can Be Revived After Transfer
Michigan's highest court has determined that those who transfer legal claims over personal injury protection benefits to third parties may still be able to pursue those claims in court if they are later transferred back, ruling against Progressive and a public transit authority.
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July 07, 2025
8th Circ. Says Hartford Must Pay Before Chubb In Crash Case
A Chubb insurer does not have to split the responsibility of an underlying $2 million wrongful death settlement with a Hartford unit, the Eighth Circuit has ruled, finding that the Hartford unit's commercial auto policy should pay first since the Chubb policy specifically stated that it was excess over all other insurance.
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July 03, 2025
Hawaii Insurer Claims Defense Failures In Slip-And-Fall Suit
Hiscox Insurance Co. failed to meet its obligation to contribute to a Hawaii-based restaurant property manager's defense against a slip-and-fall suit, the manager's insurer told a Hawaii federal court.
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July 03, 2025
Biggest Decisions Of Mich. Supreme Court So Far This Year
The Michigan Supreme Court so far this year has handed down a number of decisions marking important changes to criminal law, including reshaping how late adolescents are sentenced for serious crimes and declaring that the smell of marijuana alone cannot justify a warrantless vehicle search.
Expert Analysis
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4 Do's And Don'ts For Trial Lawyers Using Generative AI
Trial attorneys who use artificial intelligence tools should review a few key reminders, from the likelihood that prompts are discoverable to the rapid evolution of court rules, to safeguard against embarrassing missteps, says Nate Sabri at Perkins Coie.
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NC COVID Ruling May Have Greater Coverage Implications
While the North Carolina Supreme Court's recent finding in favor of policyholders in a suit for business interruption coverage due to COVID-19 comes too late for most insureds to benefit, it should nonetheless have coverage implications far beyond COVID-19 claims, say attorneys at Robinson Bradshaw.
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5 Argument Techniques For Policyholder Advocates
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.
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Improving Comms Between Trial Attys And Tech Witnesses
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.
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Ch. 11 Ruling Confirms Insurer Standing Requirements
A New York bankruptcy court's recent decision in the Syracuse Diocese's Chapter 11 case indicates that insurers have misread the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2024 ruling in Truck Insurance Exchange v. Kaiser Gypsum and that federal standing requirements remain unaltered, say attorneys at Lowenstein Sandler.
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A View Of The Shifting Insurance Regulatory Landscape
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.
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Courts Should Nix Conferencing Rule In 1 Discovery Scenario
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.
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Top Considerations For Insurance Companies In 2025
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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What Public View Of CEO's Killing Means For Corporate Trials
Given the proliferation of anti-corporate sentiments following recent charges against Luigi Mangione in connection with the killing of UnitedHealthcare's CEO, attorneys who represent corporate clients and executives will need to adapt their trial strategy to account for juror anger, says Clint Townson at Townson Litigation Consulting.
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The 7th Circ.'s Top 10 Civil Opinions Of 2024
Attorneys at Jenner & Block examine the most significant decisions issued by the Seventh Circuit in 2024, and explain how they may affect issues related to mass arbitration, consumer fraud, class certification and more.
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Insurance Considerations For LA Wildfire Recovery
Businesses and homeowners affected by the destructive Southern California wildfires must act swiftly and strategically to navigate the complexities of the insurance recovery process, including by identifying all applicable policies, documenting damage thoroughly and keeping abreast of relevant state law, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.
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Artfully Conceding Liability Can Offer Defendants 3 Benefits
In the rare case that a company makes the strategic decision to admit liability, it’s important to do so clearly and consistently in order to benefit from the various forms of armor that come from an honest acknowledgment, says Ken Broda-Bahm at Persuasion Strategies.
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What Insurers Should Know About AI Use In Litigation
As the use of artificial intelligence in litigation evolves, insurers should note standing court orders, instances of judges utilizing AI to determine policy definitions and the application of evidentiary standards to expert evidence that incorporates AI, says Sarah Abrams at Baleen Specialty.