A Homeowners policy provides worldwide liability insurance coverage to the homeowners subject to various exclusions and limitations. In Perry v. Hartford Underwriters Insurance Company , Not Reported in A.3d, 2015 Del. Super. LEXIS 267 (Del.Super., 6/3/2015), [ enhanced version available to lexis.com...

In Albert v. Mid-Century Insurance Company , 2015 Cal. App. LEXIS 431 (April 28, 2015, status changed from published to unpublished May 20, 2015), [ enhanced version available to lexis.com subscribers ], the California Court of Appeal had occasion to consider whether the over-pruning of trees across...

In its recent decision in Atlantic Cas. Ins. Co. v. LTA Distributor, LLC , 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 70462 (S.D. Fla. June 1, 2015), [ enhanced version available to lexis.com subscribers ], the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida had occasion to consider the application of a...

Not a day goes by it seems without news of a cyber attack resulting in the release of 4 trillion people’s personal information. It has gotten to the point where one’s identity could seemingly be stolen several times a month. Perhaps the solution for identify theft is to simply wait for your...

The court in IDS Property Casualty Ins. Co. v. Schonewolf, No. 13-6039, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 67542 (E.D. Pa. May 26, 2015), [subscribers can access an enhanced version of this opinion: lexis.com | Lexis Advance ], gave away the ending right at the get-go: “Although I am mindful that courts should...

Everyone wants to live peacefully and happily in their homes. When a neighboring business causes fumes to travel to your property and make you live with noxious odors the chance to live peacefully and happily is lost. Litigation becomes certain and insurance coverage disputes arise. In Brouse v. Nationwide...

Corky McMillin Constr. Servs. v. U.S. Specialty Ins. Co. , 597 Fed. Appx. 925 (9th Cir. 2015), [subscribers can access an enhanced version of this opinion: lexis.com | Lexis Advance ]. In Corky McMillin , the Ninth Circuit, applying California law, affirmed the Southern District of California’s...

Greed often overrules common sense. When an insurer refuses to defend or indemnify its insured the plaintiff will take an agreed judgment against the defendant, then agree not to execute on the judgment in exchange for an assignment from the defendant of its right to sue the insurer. In so doing it takes...

Admiral Ins. Co. v Kay Automotive Distributors, Inc. , 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11357 (C.D. Cal. Jan. 29, 2015), [subscribers can access an enhanced version of this opinion: lexis.com | Lexis Advance ]. In Admiral , the Central District of California held that a wage and hour exclusion contained in...

Insurers have long been writing endorsements to reduce their exposure for property damage caused by construction defects. These efforts have been taking place with First Manifestation, Loss in Progress and similarly named endorsements. Of course, insurers also face enormous exposure for bodily injury...

I’m sure many of us have had this situation. An insurer makes a coverage determination in a claim. We’ll call it claim one and determination A. Then, in claim two, involving indistinguishable facts as claim one, the insurer reaches determination B. But surely this can’t be allowed,...

Cases involving the potential applicability of a Business Pursuits exclusion, in a homeowners policy, can be interesting. Some people operate a variety of unusual home-based businesses. Suit is filed against the homeowner. He or she seeks coverage under a homeowner’s policy. And the question arises...

Several solar panel manufacturers and their distributors have been sued in class actions alleging the panels are defective and need to be replaced. As will be explained below, these kinds of claims are covered by general liability insurance (CGL), the type of policy purchased by virtually any business...

Business is booming for plaintiffs’ attorneys wielding the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). The TCPA restricts unsolicited telemarketing by fax, voice calls and text messages. Violations can trigger liability of at least $500 for each fax, text or call. The prospect of lucrative recoveries...

Just because I represent insurers doesn’t mean that I agree with every decision that an insurer wins. And just because an insurer takes a position in a case doesn’t mean that it’s one that I would have recommended to a client. If I were that narrow-minded, or acted that reflexively...

We all know that the duty to defend is broad. But just how broad? You’ll see. Bear with me here. This is worth reading – but it takes a lot of set up to get there. Zhaoyun Xia v. Probuilders Specialty Insurance Co., No. 71951-3-I (Wash. Ct. App. Aug. 24, 2015), [subscribers can access...

When it comes to policy drafting the provisions get all the glory. And that’s not surprising. But Burlington Insurance Co. v. Eden Cryogenics, LLC, No. 14-66 (S.D. Ohio), [subscribers can access an enhanced version of this opinion: lexis.com | Lexis Advance ], demonstrates that headings in the...

In its recent decision in Foliar Nutrients v. Nationwide Agribusiness Ins. Co ., 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 125528, [subscribers can access an enhanced version of this opinion: lexis.com | Lexis Advance ], (M.D. Ga. Sept. 21, 2015), the United States District Court for the Middle District of Georgia had occasion...

Several solar panel manufacturers and their distributors have been sued in class actions alleging that certain models of panels are defective and need to be replaced. Class actions can be very expensive to defend, and the ultimate liability can also be significant, depending on the number of panels at...

Two Lewis Brisbois Lawyers Superbly Explain What’s At Stake I’ve always liked “use of an auto” cases – be they in the context of coverage under an auto policy or the auto exclusion in a general liability or homeowners policy. It is usually a make or break issue for coverage...

The Liquor Liability Exclusion, contained in commercial general liability policies, has been under attack. In general, some courts have held that the exclusion does not apply to the failure to prevent the excluded conduct. In other words, say a bar patron is served alcohol, gets in his car and causes...

Tapas: Small Dishes of Insurance Coverage News & Notes For lots of reasons, securing coverage, under a professional liability policy, for sexual abuse, is going to be an uphill battle. But as a Connecticut federal court recently explained, under some scenarios, coverage can attach: “Lastly...

Tapas: Small Dishes of Insurance Coverage News & Notes A New York Federal Court held in United Specialty Insurance Co. v. Barry Inn Realty, Inc., No. 14-4892 (S.D.N.Y. Sept. 8, 2015), [subscribers can access an enhanced version of this opinion: lexis.com | Lexis Advance ], that no coverage was...

In Begun v. Scottsdale Ins. Co. , the Ninth Circuit affirmed the district court’s determination that a professional service exclusion in a D&O policy precluded coverage for former directors of a payroll services company that allegedly stole a client’s funds. The directors first tendered...

In Holloway Cleaners & Laundry Co. v. Central Nat’l Ins. Co. of Omaha, Inc. , the court granted a CGL carrier’s motion for summary judgment and held that it did not have a duty to defend its insured in an underlying action alleging that the insured’s conduct led to soil and groundwater...