Specialty Lines
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May 14, 2025
Idaho Murderer's Family Can't Get Coverage, Judge Says
The wealthy mining family of a mentally ill man who murdered and allegedly ate his victim's genitalia was denied insurance coverage for underlying litigation brought by the decedent's survivors when an Idaho federal judge determined the killing wasn't unforeseen and the killer's subjective motives weren't relevant.
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May 14, 2025
NC Progressive Customers Get Class Cert. In Car Value Suit
A class of Progressive Auto Insurance customers in North Carolina suing over the company's alleged practice of making adjustments that reduced their compensation for total loss claims has been certified by a federal judge.
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May 14, 2025
Insurer Blamed For Unpaid $3.2M Horse-Related Theft Deal
A show horse company that said an equestrian and his associate stole prize money, horse sale proceeds and valuable stallion semen blamed an insurer for covering protracted underlying litigation in bad faith, telling a Florida federal court that nothing was left for an eventual $3.2 million settlement.
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May 13, 2025
State Farm's Emergency Rate Hike Request Approved In Calif.
California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara announced Tuesday that he had adopted a judge's recommendation to approve State Farm General Insurance Co.'s request for an emergency rate increase for property insurance in the state, following January wildfires that have already cost California insurers $12.1 billion.
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May 12, 2025
Ex-Liberty VP Can Shield Health Info In Bias Suit, For Now
A Black former Liberty Mutual vice president and senior talent adviser got a temporary sealing order Monday in her race bias suit against the insurer, with a North Carolina magistrate judge stating that certain documents including her personal health information would be protected until her permanent sealing bid is resolved.
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May 12, 2025
Will Justices Finally Rein In Universal Injunctions?
The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to address for the first time Thursday the propriety of universal injunctions, a tool federal judges have increasingly used to broadly halt presidential orders and policy initiatives, and whose validity has haunted the high court's merits and emergency dockets for more than a decade.
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May 12, 2025
Cadwalader Drops Data Breach Coverage Suit Against Lloyd's
Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft LLP and a Lloyd's of London syndicate it sued seeking coverage for litigation stemming from a 2022 data breach have agreed to end their dispute in North Carolina's business court with prejudice, according to a joint stipulation from the parties.
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May 12, 2025
Broker's Insurer Wants Out Of Suit Over Bad Advice
A professional liability insurer told a Florida federal court it owes no coverage to an insurance broker accused of wrongly advising its client on a $15.9 million hurricane loss because the advice came years before coverage began.
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May 08, 2025
Insurer Owed Reimbursement In Worker Injury Coverage Row
A Washington federal court on Thursday ordered a subcontractor's insurer to reimburse a general contractor's insurer for more than $280,000 after both insurers helped settle an underlying worker injury lawsuit, finding the subcontractor's insurer owed additional insured coverage to the general contractor.
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May 08, 2025
Alaska Fishery Insurance Co-Ops Cast Wide Coverage Net
The Alaska House of Representatives unanimously passed a bill permitting commercial fishers to form insurance cooperatives, a move that allows all eligible boat owners the ability to obtain coverage from a source that understands the industry for a reasonable price, representatives said. Here, Law360 speaks with Reps. Louise Stutes and Kevin McCabe about what to expect.
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May 08, 2025
9th Circ. Says Oil Co. Marine Policy Doesn't Cover $8M Award
Lloyd's underwriters don't owe coverage for an $8.1 million award to the employer of a deckhand who was injured by defective mooring at a natural gas extraction platform, the Ninth Circuit held, saying coverage wasn't triggered under the platform owner's charterers legal liability policy.
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May 07, 2025
Politics, Tech Issues Top Concerns At Chicago Risk Event
Insurance and risk professionals around the country gathered in Chicago to discuss potential perils and opportunities for the future, with talks often centering on President Donald Trump's administration, technological developments and statutory reform of the legal system.
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May 06, 2025
3rd Circ. Won't Review PNC's $106M No-Coverage Ruling
The Third Circuit declined Tuesday to reconsider its decision that PNC Bank isn't owed coverage for a $106 million judgment it incurred over claims that its predecessor mismanaged funeral trust accounts.
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May 06, 2025
4th Circ. Hears Towers Watson's Bump-Up Exclusion Appeal
The Fourth Circuit seemed skeptical Tuesday that Towers Watson's settlement of shareholder litigation was not an effective increase in deal compensation barred by a so-called bump-up exclusion in its directors and officers policies.
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May 05, 2025
Citizens Policy May Cover BIPA Claim, 7th Circ. Says
An Illinois food ingredient manufacturer may be able to tap into one of its Citizens insurance policies for coverage of an underlying biometric privacy suit, if the company can prove it provided the insurer with timely notice of the claim, the Seventh Circuit said.
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May 05, 2025
Insurance Key Concern In Fighting Cyberattacks, Panel Says
Companies need to consider a wide range of protections and policies to stem the growing risks posed by social engineering, wire transfer fraud and other forms of cyberattacks, panelists at a risk conference said Monday.
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May 05, 2025
Late Amazon Worker's Life Insurance Suit Delayed By 2 Months
An Ohio federal judge on Friday delayed an upcoming trial over a late Amazon worker's life insurance policy by about two months but declined to convert it to a bench trial at this point, saying the request to proceed without a jury was premature.
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May 05, 2025
Liberty Wants Uber Rider, Employer To Cover Cyclist's Claim
Liberty Mutual's surplus lines unit says an Uber rider and his then-employer, Boston-based developer Beacon Communities, are liable for a claim the insurer paid out to a cyclist who was "doored" as the passenger got out near his office in 2023.
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May 01, 2025
6th Circ. Judge Unsure If Totaled Car Payout Class Will Stand
A federal appellate panel grappled Thursday with whether to uphold class certification in a lawsuit claiming that State Farm systematically undervalues totaled vehicles, with one judge wondering if every class automobile would require its own damages trial.
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May 01, 2025
Public Fire Model Could Boost Calif. Insurance Oversight
Developing a public wildfire model in California could help provide a transparent benchmark for insurance regulators to better understand fire risk and evaluate rates, but experts warn that challenges remain as the federal government eyes cuts to key climate monitors.
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May 01, 2025
Insurance Pros Stress Disaster Mitigation In Senate Hearing
A panel of insurance experts stressed in front of a U.S. Senate committee Thursday the importance of mitigation efforts, such as strengthening building codes and hardening homes, as the experts discussed how prices in the property insurance market have soared because of recent natural disasters across the country.
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May 01, 2025
Insurance Litigation Week In Review
The Fourth Circuit upheld Kaiser Gypsum Co. Inc.’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy plan, insurers for the Suquamish Tribe further urged the U.S. Supreme Court to review their tribal jurisdiction dispute and the Third Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a McDonald’s franchisee’s bid for coverage. Here, Law360 takes a look at the past week's top insurance news.
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May 01, 2025
Foster Care Insurance Costs Surge Amid Abuse Claims
Foster care agencies have faced increased costs of general liability insurance and with insurers hesitant to write policies for these entities in certain states, experts point to the need for legislative reform and regulation all while trying to prevent further trauma for children.
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May 01, 2025
Pierson Ferdinand Adds Insurance Group With New Atty
The rapidly growing firm of Pierson Ferdinand LLP announced Thursday that it tapped a new partner who was previously with Carlton Fields to launch an international insurance regulatory team practice along with another Los Angeles-based attorney.
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May 01, 2025
4th Circ. To Mull Towers Watson's Bump-Up Exclusion Appeal
The Fourth Circuit will have another chance to interpret the language of so-called bump-up exclusions when it hears oral arguments next week in Towers Watson's long-running dispute to secure $54 million in directors and officers coverage for settlements resolving shareholder litigation. Here, Law360 breaks down the case in advance of the May 6 hearing.
Expert Analysis
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7 Tips To Help Your Witness Be A Cross-Exam Heavyweight
Because jurors tend to pay a little more attention to cross-examination, attorneys should train their witnesses to strike a balance — making it tough for opposing counsel to make their side’s case, without coming across as difficult to the jury, says Ken Broda-Bahm at Persuasion Strategies.
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Insurance Considerations For Cos. That May Face Strikes
The recent surge in major work stoppages in the U.S. highlights the growing importance of strike preparedness for businesses, which includes understanding strike insurance coverage options, say Chris D’Amour and Brooke Duncan at Adams and Reese.
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Challenges Of Insuring An NIL Collective
Sarah Abrams at Baleen Specialty examines the emergence of name, image and likeness collectives for student-athletes, the current litigation landscape that has created a favorable environment for these organizations, and considerations for director and officer insurers looking to underwrite NIL collectives.
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An Update On Legal Issues In The Drone Market
Marialuisa Gallozzi and Alex Slawson at Covington examine recent developments in the legal issues surrounding the growing drone market, including possible First Amendment protections, Fourth Amendment surveillance, and litigation involving criminal and civil penalties, evidentiary pursuits, and insurance.
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Key Insurance Implications Of Hawaii's Historic GHG Ruling
In Aloha Petroleum v. National Union Fire Insurance, the Hawaii Supreme Court became the first state court to classify greenhouse gasses as pollutants barred from insurance coverage, a ruling likely to be afforded great weight by courts across the country, say Scott Seaman and Gar Lauerman at Hinshaw & Culbertson.
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Use The Right Kind Of Feedback To Help Gen Z Attorneys
Generation Z associates bring unique perspectives and expectations to the workplace, so it’s imperative that supervising attorneys adapt their feedback approach in order to help young lawyers learn and grow — which is good for law firms, too, says Rachael Bosch at Fringe Professional Development.
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Congress Can And Must Enact A Supreme Court Ethics Code
As public confidence in the U.S. Supreme Court dips to historic lows following reports raising conflict of interest concerns, Congress must exercise its constitutional power to enact a mandatory and enforceable code of ethics for the high court, says Muhammad Faridi, president of the New York City Bar Association.
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State Of The States' AI Legal Ethics Landscape
Over the past year, several state bar associations, as well as the American Bar Association, have released guidance on the ethical use of artificial intelligence in legal practice, all of which share overarching themes and some nuanced differences, say Eric Pacifici and Kevin Henderson at SMB Law Group.
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Insurance Likely Kept Swift Out Of The Woods After Vienna
Financial losses Taylor Swift incurred from the cancellation of three concerts in Vienna in August will likely be covered by insurance policies, considering how the facts of the situation differ from those of the Foo Fighters' 2015 insurance dispute over event cancellation and terrorism coverage, say attorneys at Anderson Kill.
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Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: September Lessons
In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy identifies practice tips from four recent class certification rulings involving denial of Medicare reimbursements, automobile insurance disputes, veterans' rights and automobile defects.
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3 Coverage Tips As 2nd Circ. 'Swipes Left' On Tinder Claim
The Second Circuit's recent opinion in Match Group v. Beazley Underwriting, overturning Tinder's victory on its insurer's motion to dismiss a coverage action, reinforces three best practices policyholders purchasing claims-made coverage should adhere to in order to avoid late-notice defenses, say Lynda Bennett and Alexander Corson at Lowenstein Sandler.
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What To Know About Insurance Coverage For Antitrust Risks
With all the regulatory activity surrounding antitrust and unfair competition claims, as highlighted by last month's D.C. federal court decision that Google is a monopolist, businesses must not only ensure compliance, but also understand their potential insurance coverage when such claims arise, says Micah Skidmore at Haynes Boone.
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Finding Coverage For Online Retail Privacy Class Actions
Following recent court rulings interpreting state invasion of privacy and electronic surveillance statutes triggering a surge in the filing of privacy class actions against online retailers, companies should examine their various insurance policies, including E&O and D&O, for defense coverage of these claims, says Alison Gaske at Gilbert LLP.