The United States District Court for the Middle District of Georgia, applying Georgia law, has held that an insurer had no obligation to pay a judgment against its insured in an underlying personal injury lawsuit because the...more
The Appellate Court of Maryland, applying Maryland law, has held that an insurer had no duty to defend or indemnify an insured under a professional liability policy containing a contractual liability exclusion for a lawsuit...more
A Connecticut state court has held that an insurer owes no coverage to an insured law firm that misrepresented its prior knowledge of a potential malpractice claim to be filed by a former client. Evans & Lewis, LLC v. Nat’l...more
The Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division, applying New Jersey law, has held that a professional liability policy afforded no coverage for a lawsuit alleging sexual misconduct because the insured had knowledge of...more
The United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida, applying Florida law, has held that a Business Enterprise exclusion in a professional liability policy barred coverage for claims brought against a law firm...more
The United States District Court for the District of New Jersey, applying New Jersey law, granted an insurer’s motion for summary judgment, finding that an insured’s claim related back to a prior policy period when the...more
An Ohio federal court, applying Ohio law, has held that a letter threatening a bad faith action against an insured insurance company did not constitute a “Claim” for the purposes of the company’s errors and omissions...more
Dominance was the theme of this year’s NCAA basketball tournament, with the UConn men’s team winning back-to-back championships and the South Carolina women’s team reclaiming the title with a perfect record. But let’s not...more
The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, applying New York law, has held that a letter asserting legal liabilities and threatening litigation constitutes a claim first made prior to the policy period. The...more
The United States District Court for the Central District of California, applying California law, has held that wrongful business practices and wrongful death lawsuits against a nursing facility both alleging understaffing by...more
The United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida, applying Florida law, has held that a law firm was not entitled to coverage under a professional liability policy for claims involving its allegedly...more
In this month’s insurance update, we address: •Whether opioid suits allege an occurrence - •Whether the recurring presence of wild turkeys is “infestation” - •Whether improper copying of an industry publication was in...more
The United States District Court for the Central District of California, applying California law, has held that an underlying pleading sufficiently alleged that an individual was sued in an insured capacity as an officer of...more
In a win for Wiley’s client, the California Court of Appeal, applying California law, affirmed the grant of an insurance tower’s motion for summary judgment, finding that an investment advisor’s unauthorized copying of a...more
A Pennsylvania federal court, applying Pennsylvania law, held that a policy’s Wage and Hour Violation exclusion applied to the entirety of underlying class actions that alleged the insured employer schemed to underpay its...more
In a win for Wiley’s clients, the Fourth Circuit has held that a federal indictment containing a criminal forfeiture allegation does not constitute a “claim” under a law firm’s professional liability policy because a...more
Our December Insurance Update features a few firsts from state high courts. For the first time: •The Supreme Court of Hawaii addresses reimbursement of defense costs. •The Supreme Court of Illinois addresses coverage for...more
The United States District Court for the Central District of California, applying California law, has held that, based on the initial pleadings, it could not determine in the insurer’s favor whether wrongful acts alleged...more
In a win for Wiley’s client, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, applying District of Columbia law, affirmed judgment on the pleadings that no coverage is available for a lawsuit because the “claim” was first...more
The United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida has held that an insurer was entitled to rescind a professional liability insurance company where the insured architecture firm made multiple material...more
The United States District Court for the Southern District of California, applying California law, has held that a professional liability insurer acted in bad faith by unreasonably maintaining its position that its policy did...more
The United States District Court for the Southern District of California, applying California law, held that a professional liability insurer had a duty to defend a property management company against a class action lawsuit...more
A Utah federal district court, applying Utah law, has held that a malpractice action “resulting from” or “incident to” a court’s decision to assess sanctions on an insured law firm for its violation of a discovery rule...more
Courts took up some interesting insurance questions this past month. Here’s some we address in our June Insurance Update. When a government sponsored cyberattack infects computers worldwide, does the war exclusion apply? ...more
An intermediate Michigan appellate court has held that coverage was barred for a lawsuit tendered to an insurer nearly two years after the lawsuit was filed because the insured’s late notice did not satisfy the policy’s...more