General Liability
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September 15, 2025
Insurer Asks Court To Deny Fla. Tree Co.'s Coverage After Fire
An Ohio-based insurance company filed a lawsuit against a tree service and a funeral services business in Florida federal court, saying that it should not have to defend the company that was sued over cutting down the tree that caused a fire and resulted in $2 million in damage.
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September 15, 2025
Delayed Notice Of $3.2M Verdict Bars Coverage, Insurer Says
A Florida property owner isn't covered for a $3.2 million judgment entered against it in an underlying personal injury lawsuit, an insurer told a federal court Monday, arguing that the property owner failed to fulfill its reporting obligations and that exclusions in a commercial general liability policy bar coverage.
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September 15, 2025
Security Co. Not Covered In Shooting Injury Suit, Insurer Says
An insurer said it doesn't owe coverage to a security company or one of its employees for an underlying suit over a shooting and a related $500,000 stipulated judgment, telling a Nevada federal court Monday the shooting wasn't an accident and therefore doesn't qualify as an occurrence.
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September 15, 2025
Telecom Co. Can't Avoid Liberty's Marshall Fire Coverage Suit
A Liberty Mutual unit may proceed with its suit seeking to avoid coverage for a Lumen Technologies subsidiary in underlying actions over the 2021 Marshall Fire, a Colorado federal court ruled, finding that the insurer alleged an injury sufficient to establish Article III standing.
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September 12, 2025
Split 9th Circ. Backs Cert. Denial In Progressive Car Value Suit
A split Ninth Circuit panel on Friday upheld a lower court's refusal to certify a class of Progressive policyholders in a suit over adjustments the insurer makes when calculating the actual cash value of a totaled vehicle, finding that individual questions predominate over common ones.
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September 12, 2025
Liberty Wins Defense Reimbursement In Crane Damage Row
A subcontractor's insurer must reimburse a Liberty Mutual unit for roughly $477,000 in defense costs stemming from settled litigation over property damage from an unsecured crane, a New York federal court ruled Friday, finding that a self-insured retention only applied with respect to the subcontractor.
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September 11, 2025
Environmental Deregulation Fuels Insurance Uncertainties
President Donald Trump's policy agenda of dismantling environmental regulations has created more uncertainty in the insurance world, where the benefit from decreased government enforcement may be undercut by shifting litigation risks, new legal theories and potential lingering exposures, insurance attorneys said.
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September 11, 2025
OpenAI Death Suit Heightens AI Insurance Concerns
A wrongful death lawsuit filed against OpenAI and its CEO has insurance experts evaluating what potential carrier involvement may look like, bolstering concerns over whether creators of artificial intelligence platforms have proper coverage and whether carriers could be on the hook for potentially large losses.
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September 11, 2025
Lloyd's Fossil Fuel Reversal Strikes Experts As Political
Lloyd's of London's recent move to relax coverage restrictions for certain fossil fuel businesses reflects a more permissive political climate for polluting industries, experts said, while advocates for sustainable investment called it bad business.
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September 11, 2025
Insurers Claim 'Collusion' In Ga. School's $345M Abuse Deal
Five insurance companies urged the Georgia Court of Appeals Thursday to let them off the hook for a $345 million settlement between a private school and nearly two dozen men who said they were sexually abused as students, alleging the deal was "tainted by collusion" and well outside the bounds of their respective policies.
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September 11, 2025
McDonald's Loses Bid To Force Insurer To Cover Legal Fees
An Illinois federal judge ruled Wednesday that Homeland Insurance Co. of New York doesn't have to cover the costs McDonald's incurred defending a former employee's violent workplace claims, saying the psychological harm that worker suffered doesn't amount to a physical, bodily injury that would have triggered coverage under the policy.
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September 11, 2025
Nationwide, Travelers Settle 'Hot Tub Lung' Coverage Dispute
Nationwide and Travelers told a California federal judge they have reached a settlement in a lawsuit over coverage for a condominium association facing claims from a resident alleging he needed a double lung transplant due to contaminants from a hot tub and pool.
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September 11, 2025
Insurer, Firearms Co. Drop Ghost Gun Coverage Dispute
A firearms retailer and its insurer have resolved a dispute over coverage for three underlying government suits alleging that the company contributed to gun violence by selling unfinished components used to assemble so-called ghost guns, according to a New York federal court filing.
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September 11, 2025
Insurance Litigation Week In Review
A New York federal court analyzed policy limits and retentions over abuse claims against the Archdiocese of New York, the First Circuit ordered an insurer to defend a class action over allegedly faulty heating oil, and insurers notified the Fifth Circuit of a potential settlement in their hurricane arbitration appeal.
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September 11, 2025
Berkshire Co. Says Insurers Owe $22M For Antitrust Judgment
A Berkshire Hathaway-owned construction supplier said its insurers must pay for a $22.2 million judgment against it in a competitor's antitrust suit, telling a Colorado federal court that policies issued by Liberty Mutual, Swiss Re and Allianz units cover claims based on the publication of disparaging material.
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September 10, 2025
NY Distillery Secures Coverage For Whiskey Barrel Damage
A distillery in New York's Hudson Valley can get coverage for the loss of 52 barrels of aged whiskey under a policy provision providing additional coverage for damage caused by an "abrupt collapse," a federal court ruled, saying the distillery's interpretation of the term was more reasonable than its insurer's.
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September 10, 2025
Liberty Says Subcontractor's Insurer Must Defend Injury Row
A subcontractor's insurer must defend and indemnify companies insured by a Liberty Mutual unit on a primary basis in a worker's injury lawsuit, the unit argued to a New York federal court.
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September 09, 2025
No CGL Coverage In Medical Negligence Row, NM Court Says
A Travelers unit that issued a commercial general liability policy to an orthopedic clinic owes no coverage to the clinic and two of its physicians in an ongoing medical negligence lawsuit, a New Mexico federal court ruled, finding an exclusion barring claims arising from "professional health care services" applicable.
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September 09, 2025
Woman Says Co.'s Auto Insurer Owes $7.5M Crash Judgment
A woman injured in a crash with a food service distributor's employee said the company's insurer must pay for a $7.5 million judgment entered in her favor, telling a Connecticut federal court Tuesday that the carrier failed to protect its insureds.
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September 09, 2025
1st Circ. Says Insurer Must Defend Heating Oil Class Action
An insurer for a heating oil company must defend the company in a Massachusetts class action accusing it of damaging customers' heating equipment by adding too much biodiesel to its heating oil, the First Circuit ruled, finding the company's provision of the oil to customers constituted separate occurrences.
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September 09, 2025
Crate & Barrel's Insurer Owes Primary Coverage In Injury Suit
Crate & Barrel's insurer has the primary duty to defend and indemnify a company that subleased a commercial space to the retailer and the owner of the Lower Manhattan property in an underlying personal injury suit, a New York federal court ruled, handing a win to the sublessor's insurer.
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September 08, 2025
London Insurers Owe Full Coverage Limits To NY Archdiocese
Certain underwriters at Lloyd's of London and other London market insurers must pay their full applicable policy limits under policies issued to the Archdiocese of New York, a state court ruled Monday in the archdiocese's suit seeking coverage for thousands of sexual abuse claims.
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September 08, 2025
Phone Dealer, Freight Co. Settle Suit Over Stolen Shipment
PCS Wireless LLC and RXO Capacity Solutions LLC have reached a settlement in the cellphone dealer's lawsuit over a stolen shipment and a contentious discovery dispute, according to a joint notice filed in a North Carolina federal court.
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September 08, 2025
Texas Couple Fights Firm's Sanctions Bid In Crash Data Suit
A Houston couple who accused a law firm and a since-dismissed Progressive unit of conspiring to share car crash victims' private information told a Texas federal court that their suit is "neither frivolous, unreasonable, nor improper" as they pushed back against the law firm's sanctions request.
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September 05, 2025
Liberty Mutual Unit Avoids Rental Coverage Suit
A Massachusetts federal court on Friday tossed claims against Liberty Mutual Insurance Co. in a proposed class action over premature termination of rental car coverage, saying the insurer was not party to the policies issued by another Liberty Mutual unit.
Expert Analysis
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Use The Right Kind Of Feedback To Help Gen Z Attorneys
Generation Z associates bring unique perspectives and expectations to the workplace, so it’s imperative that supervising attorneys adapt their feedback approach in order to help young lawyers learn and grow — which is good for law firms, too, says Rachael Bosch at Fringe Professional Development.
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Congress Can And Must Enact A Supreme Court Ethics Code
As public confidence in the U.S. Supreme Court dips to historic lows following reports raising conflict of interest concerns, Congress must exercise its constitutional power to enact a mandatory and enforceable code of ethics for the high court, says Muhammad Faridi, president of the New York City Bar Association.
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State Of The States' AI Legal Ethics Landscape
Over the past year, several state bar associations, as well as the American Bar Association, have released guidance on the ethical use of artificial intelligence in legal practice, all of which share overarching themes and some nuanced differences, say Eric Pacifici and Kevin Henderson at SMB Law Group.
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NY Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q3
In a relatively light few months for banking legal updates in New York, the state Department of Financial Services previewed its views on banking sector artificial intelligence use via insurer guidance, and an anti-money laundering enforcement action underscored the importance of international monitoring processes, say Eric McLaughlin and Dana Bayersdorfer at Davis Polk.
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Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: September Lessons
In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy identifies practice tips from four recent class certification rulings involving denial of Medicare reimbursements, automobile insurance disputes, veterans' rights and automobile defects.
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3 Coverage Tips As 2nd Circ. 'Swipes Left' On Tinder Claim
The Second Circuit's recent opinion in Match Group v. Beazley Underwriting, overturning Tinder's victory on its insurer's motion to dismiss a coverage action, reinforces three best practices policyholders purchasing claims-made coverage should adhere to in order to avoid late-notice defenses, say Lynda Bennett and Alexander Corson at Lowenstein Sandler.
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What To Know About Insurance Coverage For Antitrust Risks
With all the regulatory activity surrounding antitrust and unfair competition claims, as highlighted by last month's D.C. federal court decision that Google is a monopolist, businesses must not only ensure compliance, but also understand their potential insurance coverage when such claims arise, says Micah Skidmore at Haynes Boone.
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Rise Of Transpo Contractors Brings Insurance Disputes
As more independent contractors are contracted and subcontracted in the delivery industry, companies must be prepared to defend claims from drivers who are injured on the job as they are often seeking to establish an employment relationship with one of the entities in the chain, says Nathan Milner at Goldberg Segalla.
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Finding Coverage For Online Retail Privacy Class Actions
Following recent court rulings interpreting state invasion of privacy and electronic surveillance statutes triggering a surge in the filing of privacy class actions against online retailers, companies should examine their various insurance policies, including E&O and D&O, for defense coverage of these claims, says Alison Gaske at Gilbert LLP.
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What We Know From Early Cyberinsurance Rulings
Recent cyber disruption incidents, like the Crowdstrike outage and the CDK Global cyberattack this summer, highlight the necessity of understanding legal interpretations of cyberinsurance coverage — an area in which there has been little litigation thus far, say Peter Halprin and Rebecca Schwarz at Haynes Boone.
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Notable Q2 Updates In Insurance Class Actions
Mark Johnson and Mathew Drocton at BakerHostetler discuss the muted nature of the property and casualty insurance class action space in the second quarter of the year, with no large waves made in labor depreciation and total-loss vehicle class actions, but a new offensive theory emerging for insurance companies.
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Insurance Lessons From 11th Circ. Ruling On Policy Grammar
The Eleventh Circuit's recent decision in ECB v. Chubb Insurance, holding that missing punctuation didn't change the clear meaning of a professional services policy, offers policyholder takeaways about the uncertainty that can arise when courts interpret insurance policy language based on obscure grammatical canons, say Hugh Lumpkin and Garrett Nemeroff at Reed Smith.
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6 Factors That Can Make For A 'Nuclear' Juror
Drawing from recent research that examines the rise in nuclear verdicts, Ken Broda-Bahm at Persuasion Strategies identifies a few juror characteristics most likely to matter in assessing case risk and preparing for jury selection — some of which are long-known, and others that are emerging post-pandemic.