Everything is Bigger in Texas: Can the Duty to Indemnify Be Broader Than the Duty of Defense?
9/18/23
By: Shawn Bingham
Whoever came up with the marketing slogan “everything is bigger in Texas” was probably not thinking of insurance law. Yet, as we are reminded by a recent Fifth Circuit opinion, the phrase may, under limited circumstances, describe …
California Court Declines Reformation of Insurance Policy
9/13/23
By: Joseph Gonnella
The Motor Carriers of Property Permit Act requires certain motor carriers to maintain minimum liability coverage of $750,000 (“MCPPA” codified at Veh. Code, § 34600). Does this also require insurers to issue policies to those carriers with …
Eighth Circuit finds insurance broker caused no damage to additional insured
8/14/23
Following on the heels of the decision of the Illinois Appellate Court, First District in Santa Rosa Mall, LLC v. Aon Risk Services Central, Inc., 2023 IL App (1st) 221352, written about in this blog …
Punitive damages are now permitted to be sought in Illinois wrongful death and survival actions
8/14/23
By: Jonathan Schwartz, Kingshuk K. Roy, and Donald Patrick Eckler
On August 11, 2023, Governor Pritzker signed HB 219, which amended 740 ILCS 180/1, 740 ILCS 180/2, and 755 ILCS 5/27-6, to allow punitive damages to be recoverable …
Risk-Pooling with JIFs: When Self-Insurance is Not Insurance
8/3/23
Statewide Insurance Fund v. Star Insurance Company, 253 N.J. 119 (2023) involved an insurance coverage dispute between a public entity joint insurance fund (JIF) and Star Insurance Company (Star), a commercial general liability insurance company.
At …
Insured’s Failure to Submit Proof of Loss May Not, Without More, Support Denial of Florida Claims
7/27/23
By: Adam P. Reichel
Under Florida law, an insured may in certain situations avoid forfeiture of coverage, despite failing to submit a proof of loss statement. If the insured can show that the insurer was not prejudiced by the insured’s …
7/6/23
By: Jonathan Schwartz and Glenn A. Klinger
In a surprising decision, the Wisconsin Supreme Court sua sponte overturned Wisconsin Pharmacal Co., LLC v. Nebraska Cultures of California, Inc., 2016 WI 14, admitting that the Court erred in “incorporating the …
6/12/23
By: Donald Patrick Eckler and Jonathan Schwartz
Starting in Spring 2021, Illinois began to allow 6 percent prejudgment interest to accrue in personal injury and wrongful death cases, albeit subject to exceptions and nuances, which we detailed in Down It …
5/24/23
By: Ben Dunlap
In John Moriarty & Associates, Inc. v. Zurich American Insurance Company, the Appeals Court held that an insurer’s failure to pay defense bills after agreeing to defend its insured may be a breach of the insurer’s …
5/9/23
In a closely watched case of first impression, a New Jersey appeals court panel held on Monday that a “hostile/warlike action” exclusion contained in an “all risks” property insurance policy does not bar coverage for nearly …
Important Principle of Insurance Law Reinforced
4/20/23
Applying Florida law, the 11th Circuit in Shiloh Christian Center v. Aspen Specialty Ins. Co., 22-11776, has reversed a district court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of an insurer, instead holding that the subjective …
3/27/23
By Jaemie L. Paraon and Albert K. Alikin
Several states have well-established case law holding that insurance carriers have a right to bring a direct malpractice action against defense counsel they retained to defend an insured, as long as …