Coverage & Claims

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Massachusetts’ highest court recently formally recognized joint defense agreements as an exception to waiver of the attorney-client privilege under the common interest doctrine.  Hanover Ins. Co. v. Rapo & Jepsen Ins. Svcs., Inc., Docket No. SJC-09780 (August 3, 2007). 

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Read More Massachusetts Recognizes Common Interest Doctrine, Joint Defense Privilege

As we wrote about here, the Fifth Circuit heard oral argument on June 5 on the appeal of Judge Duval’s November 2006 decision on the enforceability of various policies’ flood exclusions.  On August 2, the Fifth Circuit issued its opinion and partially reversed Judge Duval’s decision. 

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Read More Fifth Circuit Rules in Favor of Flood Exclusions

The Indiana Court of Appeals recently held that a company that acquires liabilities through a merger or acquisition may seek coverage under the acquired company’s occurrence-based insurance policies for losses that occurred before merger or acquisition. 

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Read More Split of Authority: Does An Acquiring Company Obtain An Acquired Company’s Coverage For Pre-Acquisition Losses?

On July 12, 2007, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court held that, where a vehicle causing an accident is owned by a governmental entity and is insured by an insolvent insurer, the Massachusetts Insurers Insolvency Fund is not obligated to compensate the injured individual unless and until the injured individual’s own uninsured motor vehicle coverage has been exhausted. 

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Read More Massachusetts Insurers Insolvency Fund Not Implicated Until Uninsured Motor Vehicle Coverage Is Exhausted

On July 17, 2007, New York Attorney General (“NYAG”) Andrew M. Cuomo filed suit against the ExxonMobil Corporation and ExxonMobil Refining and Supply Company “to force the cleanup of a 17-million-gallon oil spill in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, and to restore Newtown Creek, the contaminated waterway separating Queens from Brooklyn.”  

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Read More NYAG Sues ExxonMobil over Alleged 17-million-gallon Oil Spill in New York City

The Travelers Companies, Inc. has announced a settlement with ACandS Inc. to resolve all current and future asbestos-related coverage claims.  ACandS, an insulation contractor, has been undergoing Chapter 11 reorganization since 2002, and its bankruptcy counsel has described the Travelers insurance coverage as “the most important asset of ACandS’s bankruptcy estate.” 

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Read More Travelers Enters Settlement with ACandS, Ending “Potentially Unlimited” Exposure; Plan Includes Reinsurance Allocation