A federal district court in Alabama has ruled that commercial environmental insurance policies did not cover claims for damage caused by the insured’s business operations where the damage had not been “unexpected.”

The Case

SmarterFuel Inc. and Smarter Fuel South, LLC, bought and picked up catfish waste from catfish farms and used cooking oil from

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit has ruled that an insurance company had no duty to indemnify an insured home builder that allegedly infringed copyrighted house designs, finding that the builder’s schematics were not advertisements for purposes of the policy’s advertising injury provisions.

The Case

Home Design Services, Inc., sued Highland Holdings,

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has ruled that insurers were not obligated to defend their insured against claims that the insured had violated a person’s “right of privacy” where one complaint had not alleged publication of private material and the other fell within the Recording and Distribution exclusion.

The Case

Aspen

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit has ruled that 3M Company was not entitled to insurance coverage for fraud losses it allegedly had suffered in a limited partnership.

The Case

3M invested assets from its employee benefit plan in WG Trading Company LP, in a transaction that it structured as a limited

A federal district court in South Carolina has ruled that a professional liability exclusion in insurance policies issued to an inspection services company precluded coverage for lawsuits alleging that the company had been negligent.

The Case

Eight state lawsuits against Morningstar Consultants, Inc. (“MCI”) alleged property damage to certain construction projects for which MCI allegedly

New York Court Of Appeals Limits Scope Of Additional Insured Coverage 

An excavator contracted with the New York City Transit Authority (“NYCTA”) to perform tunnel excavation work on a subway construction project. Its excavation machine touched a live, buried electrical cable, resulting in an explosion and injury to the claimant. The claimant sued the City,

Court Rejects Insurers’ Defenses To Coverage For Bear Stearns’ Settlement With SEC

Bear Stearns agreed to pay $250 million to resolve claims by the Securities and Exchange Commission that it had facilitated its customers’ late trading and market timing practices in its performance of clearing services on their behalf.  Of that amount, part was labeled

A federal district court in West Virginia has ruled that a commercial general liability (“CGL”) insurance company had no obligation to defend its insured against claims for breach of contract.

The Case

Rock “N” Roll Coal Company, Inc., was sued for allegedly failing to make certain royalty payments under a lease. Rock “N” Roll filed

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit has affirmed a district court’s decision that a settlement agreement reached between a policyholder and the company that was suing it was not enforceable against the policyholder’s insurance carrier.

The Case

The Interlachen Property Owners Association sued Kuepers Construction, Inc., alleging design and construction defects in

Employee Who Left Job Due to Terminal Illness Was Entitled to Severance Pay, Ninth Circuit Rules

The wife of the plaintiff in this case was employed by the American Society for Technion-Israel Institute of Technology (ATS) until her terminal illness forced her to leave her job. The plaintiff contended that his wife was entitled to severance