Our May Insurance Update is available.  April showers brought a downpour of coverage cases last month.  The cases include: The South Dakota Supreme Court considers whether an insured can get coverage for claims by nearby property owners who accused him of selling his property to someone he knew would use it to house pigs. The …
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Sixth Circuit Affirms District Court Decision That Anesthesiologist Was Not Disabled from His Own Occupation The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit recently affirmed a district court’s decision upholding a determination by the claim administrator of an employee welfare benefit plan governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) that …
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No Advertising Injury Coverage For Suit Against Fashion Designer, Southern District Of New York Concludes A New York fashion designer and related parties sued for allegedly violating the terms of a license agreement asked the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York to compel their insurer to defend them. The court …
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Our April Insurance Update is here.  It addresses the following questions: A claimant offers to settle within policy limits, and then revokes the offer 41 days later.  Claimant goes to trial and gets an excess judgment.  Has the insurer breached its duty to settle?  The Georgia Supreme Court decides and clarifies its precedent on time-limited …
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Owner Deemed Additional Insured Under Subcontractor’s Insurance Policy  The owner of a construction project was sued for injuries allegedly suffered by a subcontractor’s employee.  The general contractor’s contract with the subcontractor obligated the subcontractor to obtain additional insured coverage for the owner.  The court held that the owner was covered as an additional insured under …
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Most people think of spiders as insects.  But my 4th grade teacher taught us otherwise.  Insects have a head, thorax, and abdomen.  And six legs.  Spiders have two body parts (the head and thorax are combined) and have 8 legs.  They belong to a species known as arachnids. So what does this have to do …
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Commentary: Long Island has been my home for most of my life. Here are a few of my favorite things about my hometown: beautiful beaches, great public education, fried clams, Billy Joel, the lunar module, four Stanley Cups, the Belmont Stakes and Bethpage Black. Some of my not-so-favorite things: unbearable traffic, exorbitant property taxes and …
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Court Denies Motion to Dismiss on Failure to Exhaust Grounds When Plan Documents Were Apparently Silent with Respect to Exhaustion The U.S. district court in Connecticut recently denied a claim administrator’s motion to dismiss a Complaint seeking short-term disability benefits under an employee welfare benefit plan governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of …
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First Department Finds Additional Insured Coverage Under Policy Issued To Claimant’s Employer United Interior Renovations contracted with and obtained additional insured coverage for All State Interior Demolition under United’s policy for bodily injury caused, in whole or in part, by United’s acts or omissions. United’s employee was allegedly injured and sued All State, but did …
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11th Circuit Holds ERISA Plan’s Anti-Assignment Provision Bars Third-Party Doctor’s Claim for Reimbursement for Services  The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) provides that plan participants and plan beneficiaries may bring a private civil action to recover benefits due under the terms of a plan, to enforce rights under a plan, or to …
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