February 2025 Insurance Update

The 2014 Home Depot data breach was one of the more notorious cyberattacks. A decade later, litigation over that incident continues.  The Sixth Circuit recently decided whether an electronic data exclusion cleared insurers from having to defend Home Depot against claims over the costs of reissuing payment cards.

About two years ago, the Delaware Supreme Court in Rite Aid held that government opioid suits do not seek damages because of bodily injury. A distributor sought to avoid that ruling by focusing on language in a settlement agreement, but the Delaware Superior Court was not having it.

A federal district court in Texas takes on a recurring issue that has divided courts. The fact pattern is this: the insured completes the task it sets out to do (excavates dirt, drills a well, puts up a fence, etc.). It just does it in the wrong location by mistake. Here, the insured cleared over 1,600 trees from the wrong property. Is there an occurrence?

Which claims-made policies are triggered can sometimes become tricky where there are multiple claims. Federal courts in California and Wisconsin discuss when claims are related for trigger purposes and whether prior notice exclusions apply.

Finally, policyholders sometimes conflate abuse of process with malicious prosecution. A federal judge in Minnesota sets the record straight.

We hope you enjoy the update.