Coverage & Claims

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A New York state appeals court recently held that an insured’s statements made pre-litigation to an insurer’s investigator, as well as subsequent testimony in the investigation regarding those statements, are inadmissible hearsay. …
Read More New York State Appellate Court: An Insured’s Statements During and Regarding an Insurance Investigation Are Not Admissible at a Subsequent Hearing Under the Business Records Exception to the Hearsay Rule

In late June, as previously reported here, both houses of the New York state legislature passed a bill proposing to reverse New York’s longstanding “no-prejudice rule,” which provides that an insurer need not establish prejudice in order to disclaim coverage on late notice grounds. 

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Read More New York Remains a No-Prejudice State. . . For Now

Last week, a federal appellate court affirmed the denial of a motion filed by State Farm Fire and Casualty Company (“State Farm”) to disqualify Richard (“Dickie”) Scruggs, his law firm, and other attorneys and firms in the Scruggs Katrina Group from representing plaintiffs in the case of McIntosh v. State Farm Fire & Casualty Co.  …
Read More Fifth Circuit Affirms Denial of State Farm’s Motion to Disqualify Dickie Scruggs and the Scruggs Katrina Group

The Securities and Exchange Commission recently filed an amicus brief in the Vigilant Ins. Co. et al. v. The Bear Stearns Cos., Inc. insurance coverage litigation. On June 19, 2007, an intermediate New York State appellate court held that a question of fact existed as to whether a component of an SEC settlement that was specifically labeled as disgorgement actually constituted the kind of disgorgement that many courts have deemed uninsurable as a matter of public policy. 

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Read More SEC Files Amicus Brief in Bear Stearns Insurance Coverage Litigation

As the number of home foreclosures continues to rise, the United States House of Representatives recently passed legislation directed at a range of players involved in the subprime crisis. 

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Read More U.S. House of Representatives Passes Subprime Legislation Targeting Wall Street Banks

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 Ct. 2007), an unpublished decision, the court held that the commercial general liability (“CGL”) policy of a general contractor did not cover the defective work of a subcontractor who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

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