2BInformed: Engaging with EPA, OSHA’s New Regulation, and Asbestos
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
This insurance-coverage dispute involved alleged asbestos exposure from asbestos-containing vermiculite mined from Vermiculite Mountain outside of Libby, Mont. The court acknowledged that vermiculite ore may contain toxic...more
Amid a surge of lawsuits nationwide over alleged PFAS-related harms and growing regulatory efforts to curb their production and use, policyholders are grappling with mounting liabilities and unclear insurance coverage...more
A California federal district court recently compelled arbitration of a reinsurance dispute, finding that it “had little difficulty concluding that this case falls within the parties’ arbitration agreement.” Truck Insurance...more
Employer’s Liability Exclusions typically apply to claims for bodily injury to employees arising out of and in the course of their employment by the insured. But, to what extent might such exclusions apply to claims for...more
Southern District Holds Insured Not Entitled To Judgment On Pleadings As To Duty To Defend Because Extrinsic Evidence May Show Duty Is Terminated- Color Techniques, Inc. (CTI) sold ingredients used in cosmetic formulations...more
Delaware Supreme Court concludes that a letter from a lawyer informing an insured of possible lawsuits without identifying potential plaintiffs or demanding payment is not a “claim for damages” within the meaning of...more
Court: U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Louisiana. Plaintiff filed an action alleging take-home exposure from asbestos fibers while living with her grandfather, who was a welder for 40 years at Avondale...more
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, September 15, 2022 - Fireman’s Fund Ins. Co. v. Onebeacon Ins. Co., 2022 U.S. App. LEXIS 25863 - Fireman’s Fund Insurance Company (“Fireman’s Fund”) issued three excess...more
Register Today For Cranfill Sumner’s 2021 Virtual Continuing Education Seminar: Workers’ Compensation & Civil Litigation Law Updates...more
Parties to a contract generally can include in their agreement a provision preventing assignment of the agreement’s rights and remedies without the consent of both parties. ...more
The case between Equitas and Municipal Mutual Insurance (MMI) has been discontinued, bringing to an end a dispute that was due to be heard by the UK Supreme Court this week. Last year’s ruling by the Court of Appeal therefore...more
The Second Circuit has reversed a $64 million judgment against Fireman’s Fund Insurance Co. in the latest ruling in a long-running dispute related to primary and excess policies that Utica Mutual Insurance Co. issued to a...more
We previously posted about the yearslong reinsurance dispute between Utica Mutual Insurance Co. (the cedent) and Century Indemnity Co. (the reinsurer), involving Utica’s claims that Century breached two reinsurance...more
The plaintiffs, U.S. Fire Insurance Co. and North River Insurance Co., issued 12 umbrella and excess umbrella liability policies for a combined coverage of $244 million to a manufacturer of respiratory protection equipment...more
The case involved a “second layer special casualty excess agreement of reinsurance” under which reinsurers General Reinsurance Corp. and SCOR Reinsurance Co. agreed to cover a certain amount in excess of Chicago Insurance...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
A New York state court explored the proper allocation method for insurance policies with non-cumulation clauses covering asbestos exposure loss occurring over the course of multiple successive policy periods in In re...more
In a closely watched case, the Court of Appeal of England and Wales has given reinsurers a win with respect to reinsurance claims related to mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases....more
A New York Supreme Court recently explained the conditions that qualify and disqualify a proposed umpire. National Union Fire Insurance and Enstar could not agree on an umpire for their asbestos-claim-related arbitration. ...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
A Michigan federal court declined to bifurcate a case involving a contract dispute between a ceding insurer, Amerisure, and its reinsurer, Transatlantic Re, in a case arising from underlying asbestos claims dating back to the...more
The Northern District of New York declined to reconsider a September 2018 decision on competing motions for partial summary judgment we previously reported on in a long-running reinsurance dispute related to asbestos...more
On December 6, 2018, in an unreported decision, Maryland’s Court of Special Appeals permitted plaintiffs in product liability litigation in Baltimore City Circuit Court to obtain broad discovery into joint defense agreements,...more