Bill on Bankruptcy: The Market's Unquenchable Thirst for Junk
Asbestos fibers, chemical fumes, environmental pollutants—what do they have in common? They all involve injuries that manifest over time and are continuously at the center of the complex exposure trigger debate....more
Can AI or Chat GBT write poetry, perhaps by accident. But an insurance underwriter came up with the phrase: “Taking the suddenness out of accident.” Now that’s poetry. The poet was describing the “occurrence” definition in an...more
On June 6, 2024, the United States Supreme Court issued its long-awaited ruling in Truck Insurance Exchange v. Kaiser Gypsum Co., Inc., et al. The Court held an insurer with financial responsibility for claims in bankruptcy...more
It’s not often that the U.S. Supreme Court weighs in on insurance issues. That’s because the McCarran-Ferguson Act gives states the primary authority to regulate the business of insurance. So when the Supreme Court speaks on...more
Rulings by the United States Supreme Court profoundly impact insurers as businesses and corporate citizens. Additionally, decisions from the U.S. Supreme Court can also influence claims and policyholders' liabilities for...more
It is a settled principle of insurance law that a liability insurer’s duty to defend is broader than its duty to indemnify. In most jurisdictions, if any portion of a complaint against a policyholder is even potentially...more
Although many companies that historically used asbestos in their products have gone bankrupt, there are still many that have managed to survive. How? In some — perhaps many — cases, the answer may be due in no small part to...more
In Utica Mutual Insurance Company v. Fireman’s Fund Insurance Company, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, reversing a jury verdict in the District Court, held that the “follow-the-settlements” doctrine does not...more
On April 3, 2020, the Maryland Court of Appeals, in a closely-watched case, unanimously rejected the application of an “all sums” allocation and held that damages for continuous bodily injury must be allocated pro rata, by...more
In Textron v. Travelers Casualty and Surety Co. (No. B262933, filed 2/25/20), a California appeals court held that the Restatement’s choice of laws factors mandated application of California’s continuous and progressive...more
In a significant Connecticut Supreme Court win for policyholders officially released this week, Murtha Cullina helped Vanderbilt Minerals, LLC prevail once again in its coverage case against more than 20 of its insurance...more
On October 4, 2019 (almost two years after granting certification), the Connecticut Supreme Court affirmed the Appellate Court’s rulings on four key coverage issues in R.T. Vanderbilt Company v. Hartford Accident & Indemnity...more
The Court of Appeal’s highly anticipated judgment in Equitas v MMI has been handed down today (17 April 2019). The decision is the latest ruling in the long running saga and represents an important victory for reinsurers....more
In a pair of recent asbestos coverage decisions, a Pennsylvania federal court issued rulings addressing expedited funding orders, number of “occurrences,” and the applicability of aggregate limits under the Fourth Circuit’s...more
On November 21, 2018, the New York Supreme Court, Onondaga County, issued a summary-judgment ruling on a number of coverage issues arising from asbestos-related bodily injury claims against plaintiffs Carrier Corporation...more
On August 18, 2018, the New York Supreme Court, New York County, confirmed a referee’s finding that “all sums” allocation was required under excess policies issued by Midland Insurance Company because they included a...more
Honeywell International Inc. (“Honeywell”), represented by its counsel at K&L Gates LLP, achieved a decisive victory for policyholders in a ruling from the Supreme Court of New Jersey on June 27, 2018, in the long-running...more
In April 1977, a few weeks before I began practicing law, senior claims executives of eighteen liability insurance companies met to discuss the insurance implications of asbestos bodily injury claims....more
On November 29, 2017, the New York Supreme Court issued an important ruling benefiting policyholders seeking insurance coverage for toxic tort claims. In American Home Assurance Company v. Port Authority of New York & New...more
This case concerns an action filed by Utica Mutual Insurance Company (Utica) against its reinsurer, Fireman’s Fund Insurance Company (FFIC) seeking to enforce certain reinsurance contracts against FFIC with respect to...more
The scope of an insurer’s right to control the defense of an insured is an underdeveloped issue in Massachusetts case law, which the Appeals Court recently addressed in OneBeacon America Ins. Co. v. Celanese Corp., No....more
“Long-tail” claims involve personal injury or property damage from alleged exposure to injury-causing products, such as asbestos or PFCs, over a number of years and multiple policy periods. Courts in various jurisdictions use...more
In an action involving claims under facultative reinsurance for the reinsurance of asbestos risks, the reinsurer sought discovery of documents concerning the allocation of losses among the reinsurers on the program, and...more
In this case, a Louisiana federal court denied a motion for remand of a former machinist’s asbestos-related claim, finding that an English insurer’s removal from state court was appropriate and that the dispute could relate...more
In re Viking Pumps, Inc: Sowing Confusion for Insurers and Policyholders Alike. In May 2016, the New York Court of Appeals issued its decision addressing a question of first impression: how “anti- stacking” or...more