On Friday, the speaker of the Massachusetts House of Representatives called on the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to delay implementation of federal flood insurance reform so that FEMA, Congress, and local officials can work to restructure the 45-year-old National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).
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Massachusetts Developments
Massachusetts Appeals Court Affirms Insurer’s Liability For Tort-Related Litigation Expenses In Unfair Claim Settlement Practices Case
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. …
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Massachusetts High Court Rules That Federal Arbitration Act Applies to Contracts Involving Interstate Commerce
By Troutman Pepper Locke on
In a decision that has implications for reinsurance, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court last week decided that the Federal Arbitration Act preempts the Massachusetts Arbitration Act where the relevant contract involves interstate commerce. The decision is McInnes v. LPL Financial, LLC, et al., No. SJC-11356 (Aug. 12, 2013), and is available at the court’s website. …
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Massachusetts High Court Narrows Scope of Title Insurer’s Duty to Defend
By Troutman Pepper Locke on
Recently, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court considered the standard for determining when a title insurer’s duty to defend is triggered. Finding that the scope of the title insurer’s duty to defend is narrow, the court concluded that a title insurer owes a duty to defend only where the title insurance policy at issue specifically envisions the type of loss alleged. …
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Massachusetts Appeals Court: Automobile Exclusion in CGL Policy Precludes Coverage for Negligent Supervision Claims
By Troutman Pepper Locke on
On June 26, 2013, the Appeals Court of Massachusetts determined that an automobile exclusion in a commercial general liability insurance policy precludes coverage for claims against an insured for alleged negligent supervision of an intoxicated employee, even where the policy at issue contains a “severability of interests” clause. …
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Webinar Replay – Potential Claim and Insurance Implications of the Boston Marathon Bombings
Four members of our Insurance and Reinsurance Department recently conducted a webinar in which they addressed potential claims arising from the Boston Marathon bombings as well as possible insurance implications related to those claims. They discussed a variety of issues, focusing on who will likely bear financial responsibility for the resulting losses and the availability of insurance coverage for both the victims injured by the blast and the scores of businesses impacted by the bombings. …
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TRIA Extension Bill Is Introduced in Congress in the Wake of the Boston Attacks
Last week, Representative Bennie Thompson, a Democrat Congressman from Mississippi, introduced the Fostering Resilience to Terrorism Act of 2013, which would extend the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act by ten years. TRIA, which is set to expire at the end of 2014, was the subject of another proposed extension earlier this year but that proposal merely extended the program five years. …
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Massachusetts High Court Holds That Title Insurers Do Not Have Broad Duty To Defend Counterclaims
By Troutman Pepper Locke on
The Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts recently held that where title insurers pursue litigation to cure defects to a title, they do not have a broad duty to defend any uncovered counterclaims against the insured. See GMAC Mortgage, LLC v. First American Title Ins. Co., No. SJC-11161 (Apr. 4, 2013). …
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Patriot’s Day Bombing – Insurance Issues?
Monday’s attack affected hundreds of lives and businesses struck by the tragedy. Insurers and reinsurers will undoubtedly face claims and losses in the wake of Monday’s devastation. …
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Massachusetts Appeals Court Finds Duty to Defend Wrongful Conviction Suit
By Troutman Pepper Locke on
The Massachusetts Appeals Court recently held, in an unpublished decision, that an insurer breached its duty to defend a town against a suit filed by the sister of a man wrongly convicted for murder, in Waters v. Western World Insurance Company, No. 11-P-2124. A copy of the decision from the official Massachusetts reports website is available here. …
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