In a win for Wiley’s client, a Florida federal court held that a professional services exclusion barred coverage for underlying litigation arising out of the insured’s faulty DNA analysis services. A DNA laboratory provided...more
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
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 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 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
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 District Court for the Central District of California, applying California law, has held that wrongful business practices and wrongful death lawsuits against a nursing facility both alleging understaffing by...more
The United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida, applying Florida law, has held that a law firm was not entitled to coverage under a professional liability policy for claims involving its allegedly...more
In this month’s insurance update, we address: •Whether opioid suits allege an occurrence - •Whether the recurring presence of wild turkeys is “infestation” - •Whether improper copying of an industry publication was in...more
A Pennsylvania federal court, applying Pennsylvania law, held that a policy’s Wage and Hour Violation exclusion applied to the entirety of underlying class actions that alleged the insured employer schemed to underpay its...more
The United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida has held that an insurer was entitled to rescind a professional liability insurance company where the insured architecture firm made multiple material...more
The United States District Court for the Southern District of California, applying California law, held that a professional liability insurer had a duty to defend a property management company against a class action lawsuit...more
Insurance coverage for cyberattacks can be tricky for anyone to navigate, including lawyers. To illustrate this point, a case in New Jersey caught my eye that I thought would be an interesting read for our followers who are...more
Courts took up some interesting insurance questions this past month. Here’s some we address in our June Insurance Update. When a government sponsored cyberattack infects computers worldwide, does the war exclusion apply? ...more
Applying New York law, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York has held that no coverage exists under a professional liability policy because the lawsuit for which the insured sought coverage...more
In National Fire & Marine Insurance Company v. Hampton, No. 19-17235 (9th Cir. Oct. 21, 2020), the Ninth Circuit held that a doctor’s guilty plea to the unlawful distribution of a controlled substance barred insurance...more
Applying Nevada law, the Ninth Circuit has held that a professional liability insurer did not have a duty to defend or indemnify a doctor for a wrongful death action because the doctor’s guilty plea triggered an exclusion for...more
A federal district court has ruled that a third-party administrator’s professional liability policy does not afford coverage for a claim against the TPA arising from an excess judgment against the TPA’s...more
In a case in which Wiley represented the insurer, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, applying New York law, has held that three prior knowledge exclusions barred coverage under an...more
The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, applying New York law, has concluded that an insurer waived the right to assert a policy exclusion as a coverage defense in a declaratory judgment action after...more