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
By statute, California law holds that willful misconduct—where an insured intends to cause someone harm—is not insurable as a matter of public policy. For years, insurance companies have sought to expand this prohibition to...more
After a two week trial in 2013, a jury convicted Mitchell J. Stein, a lawyer, of mail, wire, and securities fraud based on evidence that he fabricated press releases and purchase orders to inflate the stock price of his...more
Willful misconduct is uninsurable. It is a fundamental principle of insurance, and it makes sense to both the lay and the lawyerly. But few states go as far as to codify this principle in the insurance code. California is an...more
The Central District of California held that Section 533 of the Insurance Code eliminated any potential for coverage for suit under the state False Claims Act. On January 4, the U.S. District Court for the Central...more
On June 22, the Eleventh Circuit affirmed the grant of summary judgment in favor of National Union Insurance Company of Pittsburgh, Pa., in an action where the insured sought $10 million in coverage under a D&O policy. The...more