In Omega Proteins Limited v Aspen Insurance UK Ltd [2010] EWHC 220 (Comm) the High Court was asked to consider whether a judgment that an insured was liable for breach of contract prevented a court from finding tortious liability within the same cover.
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Coverage & Claims
Deepwater Horizon Incident: Has Your Insured Made a Claim With BP or the Gulf Coast Claims Facility? Should it?
By Troutman Pepper Locke on
Posted in Coverage & Claims, United States
Effective August 23, 2010, all Deepwater Horizon Incident (the “Spill”) claims must be filed with Gulf Coast Claims Facility (“GCCF”) and no longer with BP. Headed by its claims administrator, Kenneth R. Feinberg, the GCCF has replaced the BP claims process. …
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UK: Uncertainty as to the Temporal Scope of Rome II
By Troutman Pepper Locke on
Posted in Coverage & Claims, United Kingdom
In Deo Antoine Homawoo v GMF Assurance SA and others [2010] EWHC 1941 (QB) the High Court had to determine, as a preliminary issue, whether Rome II (a regime for determining the law applicable to non-contractual obligations) applied to Homawoo’s claim against GMF Assurance, a French insurance company, for damages for personal injury caused to Homawoo during a road traffic accident in France. …
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New York State Court Rules that Reinsurers Must Follow Cedent’s Settlement and Loss Allocation
By Troutman Pepper Locke on
In a recent decision of the New York Supreme Court, United States Fid. & Guar. Co. v. American Re-insurance Co., Index No. 604517/02 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. Aug. 20, 2010), the court granted summary judgment to a ceding company against the defendant reinsurers on causes of action for breach of contract and breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing arising out of the cedent’s $987.4 million payment to settle certain asbestos injury claims. …
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Rhode Island Federal Court Holds That Direct Action by Third Party Claimant Against Excess Insurer Is Barred Where Insured’s Bankruptcy Prevents Exhaustion of Self-Insured Retention
By Troutman Pepper Locke on
Posted in Coverage & Claims, United States
The federal district court of Rhode Island recently held that a third-party claimant cannot bring a direct action against an excess insurer under Rhode Island’s direct action statute even if the insured is bankrupt and cannot satisfy its self-insured retention. …
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Massachusetts Appeals Court Affirms Dismissal of Action Against Business Owner Policy by Mortgagee
By Troutman Pepper Locke on
The Massachusetts Appeals Court recently affirmed the Superior Court’s granting of an insurer’s motion to dismiss after finding that the standard mortgage clause in a business owner’s policy did not confer coverage on a mortgagee for loss of rent where the mortgagor had executed an assignment of rent in the event of default. …
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Massachusetts Court Says Subrogation Waiver Can Survive Project Completion
By Troutman Pepper Locke on
In a case of first impression, the Massachusetts Appeals Court has ruled that an insured’s waiver of its carrier’s subrogation rights can survive the completion of a construction project. Middleoak Ins. Co. v. Tri-State Sprinkler Corp., No. 09-P-1265 (Mass. App. Ct. Aug. 5, 2010). The court’s decision puts Massachusetts in the majority of jurisdictions to have considered the issue. …
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Japan Imposes New Sanctions Against Iran
By Troutman Pepper Locke on
Posted in Coverage & Claims
Japan moved to impose new sanctions against Iran on September 3, 2010, including freezing the assets of people and entities associated with its nuclear program and imposing tighter restrictions on financial transactions. Although we have not yet obtained a draft of the sanctions, Japanese officials have indicated that new investments in Iran’s oil and gas industries would also be suspended under the new sanctions according to a recent article in Agence France Presse (AFP). …
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Deepwater Horizon Incident: Lost Income and Lost Profits Claims Paid By BP
By Troutman Pepper Locke on
Posted in Coverage & Claims, United States
A press release issued by BP states that it has made claim payments of nearly $400 million during the 16 weeks it managed claims related to the Deepwater Horizon Incident. A copy of the press release and its exhibits can be found here. …
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Court Finds Coverage Excluded For Shooting By Security Guard
By Troutman Pepper Locke on
Posted in Coverage & Claims, United States
A California Appeals Court recently held that a wrongful death action against a security guard who shot a man while on duty was excluded under an “assault and battery” exclusion, even if the security guard acted in self-defense. Michael Krause, Sr., et al. v. Western Heritage Ins. Co., No. G041405 (Cal. App. 4th Dist. Aug. 2, 2010) (unpublished). …
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