Appellate courts have been busy the last few weeks deciding a wide swath of insurance issues. The Eighth Circuit became the first federal appellate court to weigh in on pandemic-related business interruption claims. The Wisconsin Supreme Court discusses obligations owed to “innocent insureds,” while a California appellate court addresses the liability of a life insurer …
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Alan Rutkin authored the Best’s Review article,  “Cyber Threats: Get Ready and Get Tough.” In the article, Rutkin discusses the steady increase of cyber incidents and how insurers should prepare for future attacks. “Cybercrimes, along with the related coverage issues, are among the biggest challenges now facing insurers,” Rutkin says. Read the full article. …
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Here is what we cover in this issue of The Title Reporter: A Legal Update for the Title Insurance Industry: An appellate court in New York has ruled that a title insurance policy excluded coverage for a “Declaration and Covenants” filed as a condition of a zoning resolution. An appellate court in New York has …
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First Department Finds Exterior Work Over Two Stories Exclusion Did Not Apply To Accident From Work On Lower Floors Adelphi University hired a general contractor for a construction project to build, from the ground up, a three-story building.  The employee of a structural steel and iron work sub-subcontractor was injured when he fell from the …
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Insurance coverage litigation often centers on the interpretation of specific terms and phrases in an insurance policy. In our June Insurance Update: The Illinois Supreme Court decides whether disclosure of biometric identifiers to a single party is a “publication” and whether a BIPA claim involves a “right of privacy” A federal court in Kentucky construes …
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WDNY Follows Other New York Courts Holding That COVID-19 Losses Are Not Covered The insured operated a martial arts and fitness business in Buffalo, New York, that sustained losses in revenue when its business closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and related executive orders. The insured sought coverage under its commercial property policy.  The United …
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We bring you our May Insurance Update. In this month’s update: The Minnesota Supreme Court considers an issue of first impression over the reasonableness of settlement agreements that fail to allocate between covered and uncovered claims The Seventh Circuit decides whether a policy’s TCPA exclusion bars coverage for common law claims arising out of unsolicited …
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Court Finds That Subcontractor’s Insurer Owed Additional Insured Coverage Under “Caused, In Whole Or In Part, By” Endorsement Because Subcontractor Found More Than 0% Liable Kenneth Jacobson was injured on a construction site, and he sued the owner of the premises and the general contractor (“GC”).  The owner and GC filed a third-party action for …
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We bring you our April insurance update. In this month’s update, state high courts consider reimbursement of defense costs, reimbursement of medical marijuana costs, and reimbursement of ransomware payments. Federal courts determine whether a debt collector is entitled to a defense in a suit over its aggressive recovery tactics and whether a manufacturer is out …
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Second Department Holds Insurer Has No Duty To Defend Or To Indemnify Insured In Underlying Trademark Infringement Action The insured was sued in an underlying action seeking damages and injunctive relief for alleged trademark infringement.  The insured tendered the action to its CGL insurer which disclaimed. The insured settled the underlying action and sued its …
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