Coverage & Claims

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On October 7, the California Court of Appeal, Second Appellate District, held that a liability insurer, in the absence of any demand or settlement offer from a third party claimant, need not initiate settlement negotiations or offer its policy limits, even where liability is clear and there is a substantial likelihood that the third party claimant’s recovery will exceed policy limits. …
Read More California Appellate Court Issues Bad Faith Duty to Settle Opinion

A Massachusetts federal court dismissed a coverage lawsuit against a liquor liability insurer, holding that the “supplementary payments” clause in its policy did not require the carrier to furnish a bond to discharge an attachment against the insured’s liquor license. The court agreed that, because the carrier had already paid out its entire limit of liability, it had no obligation to pay either pre-judgment interest or the cost of the bond. …
Read More Massachusetts Federal Court Dismisses Suit Seeking to Hold Carrier Liable for Cost of Bond After Exhaustion of Policy Limit

The High Court of England and Wales has confirmed that consequential losses claimed as a free standing head of claim are not recoverable under s2(1) of the Riot (damages) Act 1886 (the “1886 Act”). …
Read More UK: High Court Confirms That Consequential Losses are Not Recoverable Under the Riot (Damages) Act 1886

On Wednesday U.S. District Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein dismissed on summary judgment a lawsuit by several companies associated with World Trade Center developer Larry Silverstein (the “WTC Developers”) which sought to recover funds from a $1.2 billion settlement between their insurers and several airlines and airport security companies (the “Aviation Defendants”).
Read More World Trade Center Developers Were Fully Compensated by $4.091 Billion in Insurance Proceeds, and Thus Cannot Recover Additional Funds from Insurers

New York’s highest court has agreed to rehear its June decision that held that a liability insurer found to have “breached its duty to defend…may not later rely on policy exclusions to escape its duty to indemnify the insured for a judgment against him.” …
Read More New York Highest Court to Reconsider Decision that Breach of Duty to Defend Precludes Later Reliance on Policy Exclusions

This program will offer an overview of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”). It will examine recent cases involving allegations that an insurer or its affiliate violated a fiduciary duty owed to an ERISA plan it serviced, with an emphasis on cases concerning “revenue sharing” with a mutual fund that the plan offers its participants. It is designed for in-house counsel, human resource managers and benefit specialists who focus on employee benefit matters.
Read More Please Join Us – ERISA Overview – Complimentary Seminar – October 2, 2013

On Friday, the Massachusetts Appeals Court handed down its decision in Rivera v. Commerce Insurance Company, No. 12-P-483 (Aug. 16, 2013). The insurance industry should take note of this unfair claim settlement practices case because the court determined that Commerce Insurance Company was liable for the plaintiffs’ tort-related litigation expenses following what was determined to be a bad-faith and unreasonable settlement offer, and proceeded to note precisely what constituted “tort-related litigation expenses.” A copy of the decision is available through the court’s website. …
Read More Massachusetts Appeals Court Affirms Insurer’s Liability For Tort-Related Litigation Expenses In Unfair Claim Settlement Practices Case

The Connecticut Supreme Court, in a much anticipated subrogation decision, recently held that an insurer has priority over a policyholder in the context of a recovery for insurance policy deductible losses. See Fireman’s Fund Ins. Co. v. TD Banknorth Ins. Agency, Inc., 309 Conn. 449, — A.3d —-, 2013 WL 3818112 (Conn. July 30, 2013). …
Read More Connecticut Supreme Court Determines that the Make Whole Doctrine Does Not Apply to Insurance Policy Deductibles

In Bituminous Casualty Corp. v. Iles, the Appellate Court of Illinois reversed the trial court’s judgment against the insurance company. An oil well exploded, leading to many lawsuits against Bituminous’s policyholders. …
Read More The Illinois Appellate Court Rules that CGL Policies’ General Aggregate Limit Should Not Be Mistaken for an Each Occurrence Limit