Eastern District Finds Ongoing Operations Exclusion Is Unambiguous And Precludes Coverage For Worker’s Lawsuit

Steven Rodriguez owns property in Queens and leased one of the storefronts to a restaurant. Without Rodriguez’s permission, the restaurant hired a company to change the signage and awning in front of its storefront. A worker was injured when he fell

Courts considered some interesting insurance issues this past month.

The Indiana Supreme Court lent a sympathetic ear to insurers facing multiple claims against a single policy by adopting a “safe harbor” provision for interpleader.

The Eleventh Circuit applied the notice-prejudice rule to a claims-made and reported policy but found the insured could not overcome a

Southern District Finds SIR Endorsement Does Not Apply To Additional Insured

Two underlying actions were filed against US Crane & Rigging LLC and its subcontractor, NY Crane Hoist Operations LLC, for damages caused by unsecured cranes at a building project during Hurricane Zeta. Liberty Mutual Fire Insurance Company defended its named insured, US Crane, in

In June, we wrote about the Commercial Division Advisory Council’s proposed amendment to 22 NYCRR § 202.70 to clarify what types of insurance cases may be heard. That amendment was approved October 8.

The New York Commercial Division is a leading court where complex insurance disputes are resolved. Disputes must meet a monetary threshold. But

We are pleased to bring you our monthly insurance update.

And insurance brokers will be pleased with the Connecticut Supreme Court’s decision on the scope of an insurance agent’s duties. The court held that an agent has no duty to inform the insured that its policy is at risk of being nonrenewed.

In Ohio, an

Southern District Denies Motion To Dismiss Breach Of Implied Covenant Claim But Dismisses Punitive Damages Claim

The insured manufactured products in the 1980s that may have contained asbestos and was named in thousands of asbestos-related bodily injury lawsuits. With the help of an insurance archeologist, the insured searched for insurance policies covering the years implicated

Jealous husbands, protection payments, defective earplugs, opioids, and abuse of process form the backdrop to our September Insurance Update. 

We begin with two cases from Delaware’s high court.

The first reaffirms principles stated in its 2022 Rite Aid decision, this time in connection with CVS’s attempts at coverage for opioid claims lodged against it.

The

Northern District Finds Modified Employer’s Liability Exclusion In Policy Ambiguous

The general contractor for a construction project hired DJ Heating & Cooling to perform HVAC work at the project and Rocker II Drywall Services, LLC, to install sheetrock. Rocker purchased its sheetrock from a supplier that hired Jumpstart Reality LLC to provide laborers to

“Arising out of” is a phrase commonly found in an insurance policy. It’s a broad phrase, and courts construe it that way. When this phrase appears in an exclusion, courts often apply a “but for” causation test. And that may mean the exclusion applies even though the insured itself did not commit the excluded act.

Southern District Finds Tenant’s Insurer Has Duty To Defend Landlord But Determination On Indemnity Is Premature

A pedestrian tripped and fell on a public sidewalk in front of a multi-unit premises owned by 1995-2003 Jerome Avenue. The injured claimant filed a bodily injury action against Jerome Avenue and Pawnit Jerome Corp., a lessee of one