Recent Publications


Business Owner’s Policy Does Not Cover Claims Alleging that Plaintiffs Had Been Injured By Employee Driving His Own Truck from a Party
July 31, 2013 | Insurance Coverage

A federal district court in Tennessee has ruled that a business owner’s insurance policy did not cover claims brought by people who alleged they had been injured in an accident with the insured’s employee, who left a holiday party in his own truck after drinking.  

The Case 

J. O. Adams, who owned

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Umbrella Policy Excluded Coverage for Costs Incurred in Aftermath of Gas Well Blowout
July 31, 2013 | Insurance Coverage

A federal district court in Louisiana has ruled that an umbrella insurance policy excluded coverage for costs incurred in the aftermath of a gas well blowout.  

The Case 

Pioneer Exploration, LLC, operated a gas well in Louisiana under a mineral lease. The well suffered a blowout. After Pioneer incurred costs to remediate the

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A Party Who Voluntarily Discontinues An Underlying Action and Foregoes An Appeal Does Not Abandon His Or Her Right To Pursue A Claim …
July 31, 2013 | Insurance Coverage | Complex Torts & Product Liability | Professional Liability

A party who voluntarily discontinues an underlying action and foregoes an appeal does not abandon his or her right to pursue a claim for legal malpractice.

While a party who agrees to dismiss an appeal pursuant to a settlement agreement may, under some circumstances, be precluded from pursuing a legal malpractice claim against

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Statute and Common Law Provide Immunity for Insurers Reporting Fraud
July 5, 2013 | Insurance Coverage | Appeals

After a fire damaged a house in Wilson, North Carolina, that was owned by Cully’s Motorcross Park, Inc., its president and sole stockholder, Laurie Volpe, submitted a claim to North Carolina Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Company, the insurer for Cully’s. Farm Bureau began an investigation and ultimately denied the claim, citing its suspicion that the

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New York Insurance Coverage Law Update
July 1, 2013 | Insurance Coverage

N.Y. Court of Appeals Reinstates Bear Stearns’ Complaint for Indemnification of “Disgorgement Payment”

After Bear Stearns settled “late trading” and “market timing” charges with the Securities and Exchange Commission, it sought indemnification from its professional liability and excess insurers for what the SEC had characterized as a “disgorgement payment.” Bear Stearns alleged that a substantial

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Court Dismisses Complaint Seeking Payment for MUA Procedures
June 30, 2013 | Insurance Coverage | Appeals

Montvale Surgical Center, LLC, an outpatient ambulatory surgery center, performed three “medically necessary” spinal manipulation under anesthesia (MUA) procedures on New Jersey resident Gerald Tyska at its facility. Tyska subscribed to a fully-funded group health insurance plan maintained by Coventry Health Care, Inc., and assigned his rights under the plan to Montvale.

Montvale submitted requests

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Claims Alleging Seller’s Failure to Disclose Property’s Prior Use as a Junkyard are Not Covered by His Homeowner’s Policy, Maine’s Top Court Decides
June 30, 2013 | Insurance Coverage

The Supreme Judicial Court of Maine has affirmed a lower court’s ruling in favor of Allstate Insurance Company, finding that claims that its insured had misrepresented the condition of property he sold and failed to disclose the property’s prior use as a junkyard were not covered by his homeowner’s insurance policy.   

The Case 

After Patrick

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Claims that Insured Intended to Cause Harm Were Excluded from Personal and Advertising Injury Coverage, Circuit Decides
June 30, 2013 | Insurance Coverage

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit has affirmed a district court’s decision in favor of an insurer, concluding that its policy excluded coverage for actions taken with an intent to cause harm, and that the underlying complaint against the insured alleged “an intent to harm, not recklessness.”  

The Case 

Sylvan Heights Realty

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Condominium Buyers’ Claims against City Arose When They Purchased Their Units, before Policies’ Effective Dates, Circuit Court Holds
June 30, 2013

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has ruled that claims against a city by condominium buyers arose when they purchased their units, well before the effective dates of insurance policies that had been issued to the city. Therefore, there was no coverage for the buyers’ claims.  

The Case 

The City of San

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Absolute Pollution Exclusion Bars Coverage of Environmental Property Damage Claims against Lead Producer, Circuit Holds
June 30, 2013 | Insurance Coverage

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit has ruled that absolute pollution exclusions in commercial general liability (“CGL”) insurance policies issued to a lead producer unambiguously barred coverage of claims alleging environmental property damage stemming from the insured’s operation of a mill.  

The Case 

Nadist, LLC, sued Doe Run Resources Corporation, the largest

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Pollution Exclusion Bars Coverage for Claims that House was Damaged by Bat Guano
June 30, 2013 | Insurance Coverage

A federal district court in Louisiana has ruled that a pollution exclusion barred coverage for allegations that damage to a house was caused by the accumulation of guano in and below the attic, which had become a bat roosting colony.  

The Case 

Michael Marcelle alleged that his home’s attic had been invaded and damaged by

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Insurer Has No Duty to Defend Student Against Association’s Suit Alleging that Student Trespassed on Its Property and Damaged It
June 30, 2013 | Insurance Coverage

A federal district court in Pennsylvania has granted judgment in favor of a homeowner’s insurer, finding that allegations that its insured trespassed on an association’s property, set fire to leaves, and damaged the property were excluded from coverage by the policy’s criminal acts exclusion.  

The Case 

A 22 year old student living with his parents

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Fair Labor Standards Act
June 30, 2013 | Labor & Employment

The United States Court of Appeals Second Circuit issued a significant decision with respect to individual liability of corporate officers and employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”).  In Irizarry v. Castimedes, (Torres v. Gristede’s Operating Corp.) the Court found that an individual owner of a corporation may be held to be an employer

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When Judges ‘Friend’ Lawyers: Must Recusal Necessarily Follow?
June 18, 2013 | Professional Liability | Intellectual Property | Complex Torts & Product Liability

It should be no surprise that the continuing growth of social media tools such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn has led to questions about its use by members of the legal community, including members of the judiciary. In fact, New York’s Advisory Committee on Judicial Ethics[1] has just issued another opinion[2] exploring the ethical constraints

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New York Insurance Coverage Law Update
June 1, 2013 | Insurance Coverage

New York’s Highest Court Holds That Liability Insurer that Breached Duty to Defend Must Indemnify Insured for Judgment, Even if Policy Exclusions Would Have Negated Duty to Indemnify

The New York Court of Appeals has ruled that, when a liability insurer has breached its duty to defend, it “must indemnify its insured for the resulting

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