The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, applying Georgia law, has held that the electronic data exclusion in commercial general liability (CGL) policies issued to a retail store company precluded coverage...more
In this episode of "Don’t Take No for an Answer," Lynda A. Bennett and Alexander B. Corson explore the complex issue of "allocation" in the context of defense costs in insurance claims. They discuss what steps to take when...more
Careening race cars, missing diamonds, and gold treasure provide some of the backdrop for insurance issues that courts had to decide this past month. We begin in Pennsylvania where the state’s high court reined in some loose...more
The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, applying New York law, has held that one Insured cannot use consent and cooperation provisions in a D&O insurance policy to block coverage for another...more
The United States District Court for the Northern District of California, applying California law, has held that two former directors and officers were entitled to advancement of defense costs incurred in connection with SEC...more
Second Circuit Holds That Malpractice Insurer Has No Duty to Defend or to Indemnify Lawyer Because Of Business Enterprise Exclusion- Associated Industries Insurance Company sued its insureds, a lawyer, and his former law...more
The Superior Court of Delaware has held that collateral estoppel bars an insured company from relitigating whether, under a second excess follow-form D&O policy, an SEC letter and order (collectively the “SEC Matter”)...more
Our December Insurance Update features a few firsts from state high courts. For the first time: •The Supreme Court of Hawaii addresses reimbursement of defense costs. •The Supreme Court of Illinois addresses coverage for...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, applying New York law, held that a former director is not entitled to injunctive relief requiring an excess D&O insurer to pay his defense costs because the director has not...more
In a win for Wiley’s client, the Supreme Court of New York for New York County, applying New York law, has held that no coverage is available for a legal malpractice lawsuit because the “claim” was first made before the...more
Here’s what we discuss in our October Insurance Update. Illinois: Environmental Suits Alleging Non-Compliance with Laws and Regulations Did Not Assert an “Occurrence”- Massachusetts (federal): Insurer May Consider Sums...more
Policyholders purchase liability insurance expecting that, when they are sued, their defense will be paid for by their insurer. Because the key value of liability insurance is that it is really “litigation insurance,” courts...more
Hosts Lynda A. Bennett and Eric Jesse of Lowenstein’s Insurance Recovery Group continue their discussion about the difference between the duty to defend, the duty to reimburse, and the duty to advance. They run through the...more
In this episode of “Don’t Take No for an Answer,” hosts Lynda A. Bennett and Eric Jesse of Lowenstein’s Insurance Recovery Group discuss the difference between a duty to defend versus a duty to reimburse. They explain why...more
The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, applying Michigan law, has held that, even absent an express policy provision regarding recoupment, an insurer was entitled to recoup defense costs after...more
The First Court of Appeals in Houston affirmed an analysis that involved math and application of the Texas Insurance Code. In Jones v. Allstate Vehicle & Property Insurance Company, 2022 Tex. App. LEXIS 8896 (Tex....more
A North Carolina federal court, applying North Carolina law, has held that an excess insurer may not challenge payments made by underlying carriers. The insured university faced separate lawsuits by two faculty members...more
In Verizon Communications Inc. v. National Union Fire Insurance Co. of Pittsburgh, Pa. the Delaware Superior Court ruled that Verizon was entitled to a defense under its D&O policy for fraudulent transfer claims. Although the...more
The Second Department, Appellate Division, for the Supreme Court of New York, recently held in a matter of first impression, that an insurance company with a duty to defend may not recover defense costs after a determination...more
Applying Arizona law, the United States District Court for the District of Arizona held that an insurer that breached its duty to defend bears the burden of demonstrating that an allocation of defense costs between covered...more
The question of what constitutes a “securities claim” in the context of public company D&O policies is often debated in insurance coverage disputes, and the answer to this question can have significant effects on the scope of...more
Some of the biggest pitfalls for policyholders lie camouflaged among seemingly “standard” policy conditions—often overlooked during the procurement or renewal process. This is especially true of allocation clauses, found most...more