Molly McGinnis Stine

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The high court of Maryland has endorsed pro rata allocation under CGL policies in an asbestos bodily injury case, affirming the lower court and stating that “[t]he pro rata allocation approach—a longstanding precedent adopted by the [state intermediate appellate court] and a majority of other jurisdictions—is the correct standard.”…
Read More Maryland Joins State Supreme Courts Endorsing Pro Rata Allocation for Long-Tail Losses

Third party vendors, outsource providers, and cloud providers are critical to the operations of all organizations. Yet they also introduce a significant cybersecurity risk. Locke Lord’s Privacy & Cybersecurity group will present a complimentary, in-depth review of the key regulatory requirements for vendor cybersecurity, followed by a presentation of a…
Read More Join Us – Addressing Cybersecurity Risk in Vendor Management

The Missouri Supreme Court has unanimously held a pollution exclusion to apply in a dispute between a lead smelting company and one of its insurers.  Doe Run Resources Corporation faced litigation alleging that its smelting operations caused pollution that injured various plaintiffs.  Doe Run sought defense costs from St. Paul…
Read More Missouri Supreme Court Upholds Pollution Exclusion

A policyholder was tricked by emails ostensibly from a vendor invoicing for work provided and sent $800,000 to the fraudster’s account.  In an action filed by the insured, a federal district court for the Eastern District of Michigan has agreed with the insurer there is no coverage for the loss. …
Read More Michigan Federal Court Finds No Coverage for Policyholder Duped By Fake Email

A policyholder was hit by a fraudster that developed emails mirroring the format of the company’s emails and showing knowledge of sensitive company details. Because of the ersatz emails, company employees were tricked into arranging a $4.8 million wire transfer to the perpetrator’s account. The federal district court for the…
Read More NY Federal Court Finds Coverage for Policyholder Duped By Computer Fraudster

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court has ruled that under a policy with a duty to defend, “the insurer’s duty to defend does not require it to prosecute affirmative counterclaims on behalf of its insured.”  The Court, its Mount Vernon Fire Ins. Co. v. VisionAid, Inc. decision with a 5-2 vote,…
Read More Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Holds a Duty to Defend Does Not Extend to Affirmative Counterclaims

The federal Third Circuit Court of Appeals has enforced a Travelers asbestos exclusion, finding it to be unambiguous. In General Refractories Co. v. First State Ins. Co., the court analyzed language that read: “It is agreed that this policy does not apply to [loss] arising out of asbestos…” General…

Read More 3rd Circuit Upholds Asbestos Exclusion Under Pennsylvania Law

The Delaware Supreme Court has endorsed the application of a single state’s insurance law to disputes over coverage under policies issued to a global company for costs associated with environmental waste sites in two states. The Court reversed the lower court which had decided to apply instead the law of…

Read More Delaware Supreme Court Endorses Single State Choice of Law for Environmental Insurance Coverage Case

A new federal 9th Circuit appellate decision has ruled for the insured in its suit against its excess insurer that refused to contribute to a settlement. The district court denied the excess insurer’s motion for summary judgment that said the insured failed to secure its consent to the settlement as…
Read More 9th Circuit Requires Excess Insurer to Contribute to Deal Reached by Insured and Primary Insurer