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By William T. Barker, Partner, SNR Denton LLP The Estate of Aurora Espinal-Cruz obtained a $20 million wrongful-death judgment against Deanza Jones, who had been Aurora's foster parent, after Jones's insurers had refused a $600,000 policy...

By William T. Barker & Ronald D. Kent, Partners, SNR Denton In Post v. St. Paul Travelers Insurance Co., 691 F.3d 500 (3d Cir. 2012), the Third Circuit, discussing a prior, nonprecedential Third Circuit case, Gallatin Fuels, Inc. v. Westchester...

By William T. Barker, Partner, SNR Denton LLP The Millers purchased a home with severe preexisting water and mold damage which they and their home inspector failed to detect. In Miller v. Safeco Insurance Co of Am., the Seventh Circuit held that...

By William T. Barker and Daniel E. Feinberg, Attorneys, SNR Denton Homeowners' insurance commonly excludes coverage for the insured's "business pursuits," often said to be those involving (1) a continuous or regular activity, ...

By William T. Barker, Partner, SNR Denton The insurer's duty of good faith, and the liabilities that flow from breach of that duty, play an important role in insurance law. The duty was first developed in the context of liability insurance to...

Editors of the New Appleman on Insurance Law Library Edition selected for new positions. • Professor Leo Martinez, of the University of California, Hastings College of the Law and Co-Editor of the New Appleman on Insurance Law Practice Guide...

Insurance defense counsel have unique and complicated professional responsibilities arising from their dual relationships with the insured who is being defended and the insurer who is providing the defense and must pay the judgment or settlement (assuming...

By William T. Barker, Partner, SNR Denton The Colorado federal district court in Weitz Co. v. Ohio Casualty Insurance Co. concluded that a Colorado liability insurer is not a client of defense counsel for its insured. That was correct on the facts...

By William T. Barker, Partner, SNR Denton In Loudin v. National Liability & Fire Insurance Co. , 716 S.E.2d 696 (W. Va. 2011), the West Virginia Supreme Court held that policyholder making a liability claim against another insured on the policy...

By William T. Barker, Partner, SNR Denton In Richards v. Sequoia Insurance Co. ,[1] insured attorneys, who were instructed to arrange for their own defense pending Sequoia's coverage decision, retained counsel on the basis that the insureds would...

By William T. Barker, Partner, SNR Denton Older Texas cases had indicated that, whenever a liability insurer offered a defense under reservation of rights, the insured was entitled to demand defense by independent counsel, at the insurer's expense...

By William Barker, Partner, SNR Denton, LLP From time to time, insurers and defense counsel face the problem of an insured who can’t be located. If the insured can’t be found when the lawsuit is filed, there can be a real question whether...

By William T. Barker, Partner, SNR Denton Lennar Corp. v. Transamerica Insurance Co. addressed the novel question whether an policyholder entitled to independent counsel could both accept representation by the counsel selected by the insurer and insist...

By William T. Barker, Partner, SNR Denton LLP In Great American Excess & Surplus Insurance Co. v. Quintairos, Prieto, Wood & Boyer, P.A., the Mississippi Supreme Court adopted the opinion of a divided Mississippi Court of Appeals holding...

By William T. Barker, Partner, SNR Denton In American National Property & Casualty Co. v. Ensz & Jester, P.C., American National sued the defense counsel it had retained to defend its insured for malpractice. Allegedly that malpractice resulted...