An appellate court in Illinois, affirming a trial court’s decision, has ruled that a policy exclusion precluded coverage for claims against an insured for violation of the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 (TCPA), conversion, and violations of the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act (the “Illinois Act”).

The Case

Wellington Homes,

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, affirming a decision by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, has ruled that a “prior publication” exclusion prevented an insured from obtaining insurance coverage for a continuing course of tortious conduct.

The Case

On February 28, 2012, the Navajo Nation and its

The Oregon Supreme Court, in response to a question certified to it by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, has ruled that parties to a settlement agreement that contained an unconditional release of the insured could not amend the agreement to revive a claim against an insurer.

The Case

A homeowner’s association

The Vermont Supreme Court, affirming a trial court’s decision, has ruled that an insured had breached his insurance policy’s cooperation clause and that, as a result, his insurance carrier had no obligation to defend or indemnify him in connection with an underlying personal injury claim.

The Case

Charles Chandler asserted that his then-girlfriend, now-wife, Faye

Michael C. Cannata has issued an Intellectual Property Law Bulletin. We hope you find the Bulletin useful and interesting. We invite your suggestions. The Bulletin is not legal advice.

Recent Decisions by the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board

An acrimonious marital breakup has been known to bring out the worst in some people. Those battles increasingly are fought on the technology field, thereby leaving courts to determine complex personal rights issues in the context of grown-ups behaving badly.1

In another such case, Crocker C. v. Anne R.,2 the Supreme Court, Kings County, addressed

In a highly followed litigation (CRN and NPA filed a number of amicus briefs), United States v. Bayer Corp. (US District Court for New Jersey) the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission sought an Order holding Bayer in contempt of Court alleging that Bayer had violated the terms of a consent decree that

Court Finds Coverage For Owner As Additional Insured And Rejects Insurer’s Late Notice Argument

In October 2012, an employee of Tyco Integrated Security LLC went to a construction site to meet with the construction manager about providing security services for the project, and he allegedly tripped and fell entering a bathroom before the meeting began. 

Divorced Wife Was Not an “Eligible Spouse” Entitled to Survivor Benefits under Ex-Husband’s Pension Plan, Eleventh Circuit Rules

The plaintiff’s husband was a participant in the El Paso Corporation Pension Plan, under which he received retirement benefits beginning in 1987. The plaintiff and her husband divorced in 2011, and he died about eight months later.

After

The Supreme Court of Nebraska, in a case of first impression, has ruled that an insurance company must show prejudice to prevail on a defense based on an insured’s violation of the voluntary payment provision in a commercial general liability insurance policy – and that prejudice was shown as a matter of law where the

A federal district court in Oregon has ruled that natural resource damage (“NRD”) claims asserted by a council that included Indian Tribes as members were brought on behalf of federal or state government authorities for purposes of a pollution exclusion.

The Case

In December 2000, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (the “EPA”) listed a stretch

An appellate court in Connecticut, affirming a trial court’s decision, has ruled that a homeowner’s insurance policy did not cover claims that the homeowner had misrepresented his home’s condition to a couple that purchased his home, concluding that the claim was for purely economic loss and not property damage.

The Case

Meghan and James Wishneski

A federal district court in New Jersey has ruled that “no-assignment clauses” in insurance policies precluded a company’s claim that it was insured under the policies as the successor-in-interest to an additional insured.

The Case

On July 22, 2005, Shelby Ownbey, an employee of Advantage Buildings & Exteriors, was seriously injured when he fell approximately

A Pennsylvania federal district court has ruled that a breach of contract lawsuit against an insured was not a covered “occurrence.”

The Case

Norpaco, Inc. sued Tray-Pak Corporation in a state court in Connecticut, alleging that Tray-Pak had sold it defective polyethylene terephthalate (“PET”) trays for Norpaco’s use. The complaint against Tray-Pak alleged breach of

The regulatory landscape on which pharmaceutical and medical device companies tread daily is littered with compliance landmines, none more dangerous than US Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) enforcement of the misbranding provisions of the Food, Drug & Cosmetic Act (FDCA).  It is not so much the fact of FDA’s enforcement – after all, one can