The New York Court of Appeals, in Platek v. Town of Hamburg, has reversed an appellate court’s decision and ruled that a water damage exclusion in a homeowners’ insurance policy precluded coverage for a claim that the insureds’ basement was flooded after a water main ruptured.  In so ruling, the Court also rejected the plaintiffs’

Workers’ Compensation insurance carriers face a variety of employer schemes intended to defraud them out of insurance premiums in one way or another. After briefly discussing the requirements of New York’s Workers’ Compensation Law (WCL), this column explores some of the methods disreputable companies sometimes use to avoid their obligations. It concludes with a discussion

U.S. Supreme Court Rules that Time Spent to Undergo Antitheft Security Screening is Not Compensable under the FLSA

Integrity Staffing Solutions, Inc., a company that provides warehouse staffing to Amazon.com throughout the United States, required its employees to undergo a security screening before leaving the warehouse at the end of each day. During this screening,

Claim That Home Was Damaged After Water Main Ruptured And Flooded Basement Was Precluded By Water Exclusion, New York’s Top Court Rules

Homeowners alleged that a subsurface water main abutting their home ruptured, causing water to flood into and severely damage their home’s finished basement. Their homeowners’ insurer disclaimed coverage and the homeowners sued. The

The Texas Supreme Court, in response to questions certified by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, has ruled that the BP oil company was not entitled to coverage as an additional insured under primary and excess insurance policies obtained by the owner of the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig, Transocean, in

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, affirming a district court’s decision, has ruled that an insurance carrier was not obligated to defend its insured where the insured had not “immediately” forwarded asbestos lawsuits to the insurer – and the insurer did not have to demonstrate that it had been prejudiced

The Illinois Supreme Court, reversing an appellate court’s decision, has ruled that an insurance company could rescind the professional liability insurance policy it had issued to a law firm based on one partner’s misrepresentation on a renewal application, rejecting another partner’s contention that the “innocent insured doctrine” prevented rescission as to him.  

The Case

Illinois

A federal district court in Pennsylvania has ruled that an insurance company was not obligated to compensate its insured, another insurance company, for defense costs it incurred in defending itself in a coverage case brought by its insured, which had been required to undertake certain environmental cleanup work. 

The Case

Port LA Distribution

“Contracted Person Exclusion” Bars Coverage For Underlying Personal Injury Action, Federal Court Holds

Omni Build, Inc., the general contractor for a construction project in Brooklyn, New York, hired Zom Corp. as a masonry sub-contractor.  Zom  contracted with Stone Age Equipment for a boom truck to hoist cinder blocks.  A Stone Age employee who allegedly was

Plan Administrator Did Not Err In Requiring Plaintiff to Provide Objective Evidence of Her Fibromyalgia

The plaintiff in this case alleged that her health began to deteriorate beginning in early 2009, with symptoms that included debilitating pain and fatigue. By the end of that year, according to the plaintiff, these symptoms forced her to leave her