We cover a broad range of topics in this month’s insurance update. The Supreme Court of Vermont considers how to measure a boat’s capacity under a watercraft exclusion. The Sixth Circuit decides whether an equipment...more
How much insurance does my organization need? This conundrum impacts policyholders from small businesses needing single policies to Fortune 500 companies placing complex, multimillion-dollar insurance towers. For owners and...more
An English Court has recently decided that three insurance policies covering the same loss – data breach settlements arising from an incorrectly addressed email – provided a combined, cumulative limit of indemnity. While the...more
The Minnesota Court of Appeals has held that a malpractice claim was “deemed made” against an insured law firm when it received from its former client’s new counsel a letter directing the law firm to preserve records related...more
“Acme General Contracting, LLC: Licensed and insured!” If you’ve ever retained a home-improvement contractor, you’ve almost certainly received enthusiastic assurances that he or she is “licensed and insured.” But what...more
John H. Fisher and his P.C. represented a client in a medical malpractice action filed on February 15, 2019, alleging that the defendant medical providers failed to provide proper prenatal care to the client, causing the...more
The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, applying California law, has affirmed a district court’s determination that California Insurance Code § 533 barred indemnity and defense costs coverage for a lawsuit...more
This is the first in a series of articles addressing critical issues in risk management and insurance for skilled nursing facilities. Owners and operators of skilled nursing facilities know that a claim or lawsuit against...more
In January 2022 Donovan Hatem LLP (Now MG+M The Law Firm) established a Task Force consisting of professional liability insurance underwriters, brokers, engineers and architects, and lawyers knowledgeable and experienced in...more
The United States District Court for the Central District of California, applying California law, has held that a lending exclusion in a bankers professional liability policy barred coverage for underlying lawsuits alleging...more
In 2015, Continental Casualty Company issued a commercial general liability policy to Zongwei Shen dba Nobles Massage Spa. The policy covered Shen (the spa owner) and Zhong Xin (the spa manager and Shen’s wife) for damages...more
The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, applying Michigan law, granted a primary insurer’s motion to dismiss, determining that a professional liability policy required potential claims to be...more
The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, applying New Jersey law, has held that the series-qualifier (and not the last-antecedent) canon of construction applied in an insurance coverage dispute, such that...more
It can sometimes be difficult for artists to focus on the business aspect of their profession. Creating art is their passion, and the business end of it can seem unimportant, or even overwhelming. It is important for every...more
The California Court of Appeal, applying California law, has affirmed a trial court’s decision dismissing claims with prejudice against two excess carriers for the insureds’ failure to allege exhaustion of the underlying...more
The United States District Court for the Middle District of Georgia, applying Georgia law, has held that an insurer had no obligation to pay a judgment against its insured in an underlying personal injury lawsuit because the...more
The Appellate Court of Maryland, applying Maryland law, has held that an insurer had no duty to defend or indemnify an insured under a professional liability policy containing a contractual liability exclusion for a lawsuit...more
A Connecticut state court has held that an insurer owes no coverage to an insured law firm that misrepresented its prior knowledge of a potential malpractice claim to be filed by a former client. Evans & Lewis, LLC v. Nat’l...more
The Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division, applying New Jersey law, has held that a professional liability policy afforded no coverage for a lawsuit alleging sexual misconduct because the insured had knowledge of...more
The United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida, applying Florida law, has held that a Business Enterprise exclusion in a professional liability policy barred coverage for claims brought against a law firm...more
The United States District Court for the District of New Jersey, applying New Jersey law, granted an insurer’s motion for summary judgment, finding that an insured’s claim related back to a prior policy period when the...more
An Ohio federal court, applying Ohio law, has held that a letter threatening a bad faith action against an insured insurance company did not constitute a “Claim” for the purposes of the company’s errors and omissions...more
Dominance was the theme of this year’s NCAA basketball tournament, with the UConn men’s team winning back-to-back championships and the South Carolina women’s team reclaiming the title with a perfect record. But let’s not...more
The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, applying New York law, has held that a letter asserting legal liabilities and threatening litigation constitutes a claim first made prior to the policy period. The...more
Whether at a hospital, nursing home, surgical center or private office, physicians are encountering “Medical Director” opportunities more frequently than ever before. While physicians may be intrigued by the title,...more