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In Mello Constr. Co. v. Acadia Ins. Co., 874 N.E.2d 1142 (Mass. App. Ct. 2007), an unpublished decision, the court held that the commercial general liability (“CGL”) policy of a general contractor did not cover the defective work of a subcontractor who performed a portion of the work.  In Mello, a subcontractor improperly constructed the concrete slab supporting the elementary school for which the  insured was the general contractor. 

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Read More Massachusetts Appeals Court Finds That CGL Policy Does Not Cover Subcontractor’s Defective Work

Last week, the United States House of Representatives passed the Homeowners’ Defense Act of 2007 by a vote of 258-155, a day after Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton and Bill Nelson introduced companion legislation  in the Senate.  We have previously reported on the Act here and here. 

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Read More House Passes Homeowners’ Defense Act, Senate Introduces Companion Legislation

On Friday, the Senate approved, by voice vote, the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2007 (“TRIPRA”), which seeks to extend the federal Terrorism Risk Insurance Program for an additional 7 years. 

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Read More Senate Approves Terrorism Risk Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2007

A Georgia state court judge recently preliminarily approved a $45 million settlement of a nationwide class action lawsuit concerning allegedly improper servicing of credit life and disability insurance policies in Toole v. JMIC Life Insurance Co., Georgia Super. Ct. Docket No. SU-03-CV-246 (filed 2003). …
Read More $45 Million Settlement in Loan Insurance Class Action

A New York Appellate Court recently held that an excess insurer has no direct cause of action for malpractice against a law firm retained by the primary insurer to defend the insured as there was no privity or even “near privity” with the law firm. …
Read More Excess Insurer Can’t Bring Direct Attorney Malpractice Claim Against Insured’s Defense Counsel

In one of the largest civil settlements in U.S. history, Merck & Co., the New Jersey-based manufacturer of the anti-inflammatory drug Vioxx, recently agreed to pay $4.85 billion to end various Vioxx-related claims in which plaintiffs suffered a heart attack, sudden cardiac death, or stroke. …
Read More Merck to Pay $4.85 Billion in Landmark Pharmaceutical Settlement

In Murphy Oil USA Inc., v. SR International Business Insurance Co. Ltd., et al., the insured sought coverage from its various excess insurers for losses resulting from an oil spill caused by Hurricane Katrina.  No. 07-1071, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 69732 (W.D. Ark., Sept. 20, 2007).  Murphy’s excess insurers in turn served a notice of their intent to arbitrate any coverage dispute in London, pursuant to an arbitration clause contained in each insurer’s policy. …
Read More Arkansas Federal Court Finds That the New York Convention Preempts the McCarran-Ferguson Act

Republican Mike Chaney recently defeated Democrat Gary Anderson in the race for the next Mississippi Insurance Commissioner.  According to press reports, Chaney is committed to rebuilding the Gulf Coast more than two years after Hurricane Katrina by bringing affordable insurance coverage to residents and businesses. 

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Read More Mike Chaney Elected as New Mississippi Insurance Commissioner