3/24/23
The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, in a per curiam though unpublished opinion, has once again had the opportunity to apply the Supreme Court of Georgia’s holdings in the 2012 decision Hoover v. …
Category: Insurance Coverage and Extra-Contractual Liability
Florida Supreme Court Finds Appraisers Cannot Have Pecuniary Interest in Outcome of Appraisal
2/15/23
By Jessica Cauley and Jonathan Schwartz
The Florida Supreme Court weighed in and resolved a conflict between district courts regarding appraised property claims and held that an insured’s public adjuster, who accepts an assignment on a contingent fee basis, is …
CHATGPT AND COVERAGE B: What Copyright Liability Exposures Could AI Users Face?
2/9/23
By Alexia R. Roney and Matthew F. Boyer
Previously, we introduced you to ChatGPT and the concept of an AI Chatbot application here. This week, we discuss the legal exposure that comes hand-in-hand with the internet – copyright infringement, …
Policyholders obtain rare wins in COVID-19 coverage cases against insurers
11/29/22
In what is believed to be the first jury trial in the nation on the issue of whether a commercial property insurance policy covers business interruption losses due to COVID-19, Baylor College of Medicine won a …
Storms and hurricanes: what can insurers do to improve outcomes for all on storm-related claims?
10/14/22
By: Jessica Cauley, Jessica Samford, Jonathan Schwartz, and Julia Bover
What Else is in Store for Hurricane Season 2022?
As many Floridians begin to return to their homes—or to find that their homes no longer stand—reminders come …
When it comes to Exclusions in Insurance Policies, Grammar will Make it Tense
10/12/22
By: Jessica Cauley and Marc Shrake
In September 2022, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit affirmed a seemingly unassuming district court decision finding coverage for a claim following a violent act at a hospital in Miami-Dade …
Outbreak!: Why insurance claims professionals should pay attention to Monkeypox
9/22/22
By: Glenn Klinger
Monkeypox was declared a national public health emergency by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on August 4, 2022, only the fifth time this has happened since 2009. As of September 20, 2022, the Centers …
9/16/22
By: Barry Miller
Acuity v. Masters Pharmaceutical, 2022-Ohio-3092 (September 7, 2022), considered a “growing and diverging” body of case law applying commercial general liability (“CGL”) policies in opioid cases. Prior courts differed on whether CGL claimants must link …
Post-judgment demand for prejudgment interest survives dismissal
9/7/22
By: Lee Whatling
The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals held recently that a claim for prejudgment interest made for the first time after liability had been determined was timely under Georgia law. In the underlying case, a Georgia district court …
Two Carolina Courts Reject COVID-19 Business Interruption Claims
8/29/22
By: Shawn Bingham
South Carolina’s Supreme Court became the latest high court to side with an insurer in a Covid-19 business interruption case, adopting the majority approach to interpreting “physical loss or damage” in the typical commercial property policy. On …
California Court of Appeal rules in favor of policyholder in COVID business interruption case
8/25/22
By: Shawn Bingham and Amanda Figueroa
Recently, the California Court of Appeals, Second District, became only the second appellate court in the country—state or federal—to rule favor of a policyholder on a Covid-19 business interruption claim by holding that the …
7/19/22
By: Ryan Giggi
Liability insurance policies do not cover G.L. c. 93A attorney’s fees in Massachusetts after a recent decision from the state’s highest court.
Vermont Mutual Insurance Company v. Paul Poirier et al, (July 6, 2022) rests on conceptual …