The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed and remanded a decision by the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota denying defendant SUNZ Insurance Co.’s motion to compel arbitration of crossclaims asserted by...more
Plaintiffs, Certain London Market Company Reinsurers (LMRs), filed suit against Lamorak Insurance Co. seeking a declaratory judgment that they were not obligated to pay reinsurance billings ceded by Lamorak. The disputed...more
Invoking the legal equivalent of “you snooze, you lose,” the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals found a farmer slept on its right to argue on appeal that an exclusion in its insurance policy was ambiguous. The decision, Arbre...more
The Superior Court of Delaware rebuffed efforts by a policyholder to recover defense costs and interest it incurred in connection with an underlying appraisal proceeding, agreeing with the defendant-insurers that the...more
The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a Michigan district court order confirming an arbitration award for Farmers Mutual Hail Insurance Company of Iowa. The award ordered Edgar Miller to return the extra payments he...more
An insured filed suit in a Florida district court for breach of contract and breach of fiduciary duty in connection with the defendant-carriers’ handling of claims made under the insured’s disability insurance policies....more
Fireman’s Fund Insurance Co. sued OneBeacon Insurance Co. for breach of a facultative reinsurance certificate. Fireman’s Fund settled claims with its insured and allocated a portion of the settlement to a Fireman’s Fund...more
An Ohio district court invoked Rule 45(f) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure in response to a motion to quash by the Ohio Department of Insurance (ODI). The subpoena was issued in connection with a reinsurance-related...more
A federal district court in Washington recently held that a claims handling mishap resulted in a waiver of the attorney-client privilege otherwise protecting a coverage opinion provided by the insurer’s internal legal...more
Standard Security Life Insurance Company of New York and Madison National Life Insurance Co. entered into an administrative services agreement with FCE Benefit Administrators Inc. under which FCE administered insurance...more
Coverage under most commercial general liability (CGL) policies applies only to liability arising from an “accident.” As such, injury or damage that an insured “expected or intended” to occur is not covered....more
6/23/2020
/ Amusement Parks ,
Bodily Injury ,
Commercial General Liability Policies ,
Denial of Insurance Coverage ,
Duty to Defend ,
Gross Negligence ,
IA Supreme Court ,
Insurance Litigation ,
Policy Exclusions ,
Policy Terms ,
Workplace Injury ,
Wrongful Death
PB Life and Annuity Co. Ltd. sought a judgment that its dispute with Universal Life Insurance Co. was subject to litigation, not arbitration. In response, Universal Life moved to compel arbitration, and PB Life sought a...more
The plaintiffs sued Public Storage seeking insurance coverage after Public Storage allegedly disposed of personal belongings the plaintiffs had in a rented storage unit. ...more
Plaintiffs, former shareholders of a holding company for two New Jersey-based insurance companies, sued various affiliates of Aon Risk Services Companies alleging that Aon was negligent in failing to secure insurance coverage...more
Defendants, Certain Underwriters at Lloyd’s and its third-party claims administrator, CJW & Associates, sought to enforce a mandatory arbitration clause in a Lloyd’s policy issued to the plaintiffs. ...more
2/6/2020
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Contract Terms ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Foreign Arbitral Awards ,
Insurance Contracts ,
Insurance Litigation ,
Lloyds of London ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
McCarran-Ferguson Act ,
Third-Party
A Puerto Rico district court dismissed a third-party action by defendant-policyholder Puma Energy Caribe LLC against the reinsurers of an insurance policy issued by plaintiff Integrand Assurance Co. Puma claimed that the...more
1/20/2020
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Attorney's Fees ,
Commercial Insurance Policies ,
Insurance Claims ,
Insurance Litigation ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Negligence ,
Privity of Contract ,
Puerto Rico ,
Reinsurance ,
Reinsurance Agreements ,
Standing ,
Third-Party ,
Third-Party Beneficiaries
Everest Reinsurance Co. appealed from two district court orders. It claimed that this dispute with Pennsylvania National Mutual Casualty Insurance Co. was the same as a prior dispute that Penn National had arbitrated with two...more
1/20/2020
/ Appeals ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Contract Disputes ,
Contract Terms ,
Insurance Litigation ,
Litigation Strategies ,
Reinsurance ,
Reinsurance Agreements ,
Sealed Records ,
Vacated
Taunia Kittler, through Galilea LLC, owned a 60-foot sailing yacht named Galilea. In June 2015, the Galilea crashed off the coast of Panama and was deemed a complete loss. Kittler and Galilea LLC sought insurance coverage...more
Lamorak Insurance Co. issued excess policies to Olin Corp. and also reinsured those policies with the defendants, Certain Underwriters at Lloyd’s, London. After Lamorak and Olin settled a declaratory judgment action...more
The Southern District of New York granted a ceding insurer’s motion to dismiss certain counterclaims by a defendant-reinsurer, finding their reinsurance agreement was never rescinded and that the cedent adequately performed....more
Given the broad duty to defend rules in most jurisdictions, liability insurers often find that they must — or perhaps should out of an abundance of caution — defend an insured against a claim that in all likelihood will not...more
A California district court issued its latest decision arising from Odyssey Reinsurance Company’s ongoing effort to collect a $3.2 million default judgment against insurance agency Cal-Regent, its successor PBIS, and their...more
In the latest iteration of a complex reinsurance dispute, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit vacated a 2018 district court order enforcing an arbitration award against IRB Brasil Resseguros S.A. (IRB). ...more
Everest Reinsurance Co. reinsured Pennsylvania National Mutual Casualty Insurance Co. under several treaties requiring the parties to arbitrate all disputes....more
Several months ago we blogged about the duty to defend advertising injury claims under commercial general liability (CGL) policies, noting that many courts continue to struggle with the practical application of basic duty to...more
3/13/2019
/ Advertising Injury ,
Commercial General Liability Policies ,
Denial of Insurance Coverage ,
Duty to Defend ,
Fashion Design ,
Fashion Industry ,
Insurance Claims ,
Insurance Litigation ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Patent Infringement ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patents ,
Trade Dress