Jonathan Bruno’s article, “Independent Counsel Law in Three Key Jurisdictions,” appeared in the Spring/Summer issue of USLAW Magazine.

To read the full article, click here.

A Connecticut appeals court, in a coverage dispute stemming from thousands of underlying lawsuits alleging injuries from exposure to industrial talc that purportedly contained asbestos, has ruled that the occupational disease exclusion is not limited only to claims by the policyholder’s own employees.

The Occupational Disease Exclusions

Variations of the occupational disease exclusion were before the

The New Jersey Supreme Court, joining the majority of courts, has ruled that an anti-assignment clause in an “occurrence” insurance policy did not bar the assignment of a post-loss claim even if the claim had not been reduced to a money judgment.

The Case

Givaudan Fragrances Corporation faced liability as a result of environmental contamination

The Supreme Court of Washington has ruled that the state’s Insurance Fair Conduct Act (“IFCA”) did not permit insureds to sue their own insurers for violation of regulations adopted under the IFCA in the absence of an unreasonable denial of coverage or benefits.

The Case

A driver injured in an accident sued his insurer under

The Texas Supreme Court has ruled that an insured-versus-insured exclusion in a directors and officers (“D&O”) liability insurance policy applied to preclude coverage of a lawsuit brought against a former director and treasurer of a condominium association by an assignee of the association.

The Case

After Robert Primo resigned as a director and treasurer of

The Oklahoma Supreme Court, in response to a question certified by the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma, has ruled that the public policy of Oklahoma did not prohibit enforcement of an indoor air exclusion in a commercial lines insurance policy.

The Case

Several guests inside a hotel in Siloam Springs, Arkansas,

Maryland’s highest court, the Maryland Court of Appeals, has enforced a prior acts exclusion in a primary insurance policy and ruled that an excess insurer was not bound by the primary insurer’s interpretation of that language.

The Case

A class action lawsuit filed against Cristal USA, Inc., on April 12, 2010, alleged that Cristal had

The Democrats in the Pennsylvania State Senate recently fell victim to a ransomware attack that locked lawmakers and their staffs out of their computer, data, email and website. Hackers were able to infect the party’s network with malware and demanded a ransom payment in bitcoin in order to remove the virus and unlock the files.

During 2016 the United States Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced six formal enforcement actions. All involved corporate failures to protect sensitive personal information (health, financial or other) belonging to customers, other consumers or employees. These included proceedings against the owners of AshleyMadison.com (failure to protect the information of 36 million dating site users) and ASUS TeK

The “Internet of Things”  has pervaded every facet of our society thereby introducing unanticipated cyber risks into everyday life. Often overlooked and particularly disconcerting are the cyber risks inherent in connected medical devices. Nevertheless, caregivers and patients alike should be aware that any medical device that depends on interactive computer technology may be vulnerable to

In a recent decision, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York considered whether principles of judicial estoppel may prevent an assignee of a legal malpractice claim from prevailing on a claim against his former adversary’s attorneys. Molina v. Faust Goetz Schenker & Blee, LLP, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13568 (S.D.N.Y.

Tenth Circuit Upholds Pension Trust’s Decision to Honor IRS Levies

When the plaintiffs in this case retired, they began receiving monthly benefits from the Boilermaker-Blacksmith National Pension Trust, a pension plan in which they participated. However, after the trust received notices of levy for both of them from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the trust

On February 17th, the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) released proposed new regulations aimed at stabilizing the individual and small business insurance marketplaces set up under the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”). According to the proposed rule, the marketplaces “have recently been threatened by issuer exit and increasing rates in many geographic areas.” The

The U.S. Office of the Inspector General (“OIG”) recently issued Advisory Opinion No. 16-12 (the “Opinion”) regarding a proposed arrangement between a laboratory and a dialysis facility. Briefly stated, the laboratory proposed to offer the dialysis facility free labeling of test tubes and specimen collection containers, a task which is typically performed by the dialysis

Claims-Made Policy Afforded Insured 60 Days After End Of Term To Notify Insurer 

An employee of New York Institute of Technology (“NYIT”) sued NYIT for defamation on February 26, 2009, and NYIT received notice of the action on August 6, 2009. NYIT’s claims-made-and-reported insurance policy ended on September 1, 2009. NYIT notified its insurer of