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 …
Minnesota Just Made it Harder for Insureds to Claim ‘Bad Faith’
7/12/22
By: Matthew Jones
In the matter entitled Fishbowl Solutions v. Hanover Ins. Co., the United States District Court for Minnesota affirmed a Magistrate Judge’s Order denying an insured’s motion to amend the complaint to allege “bad faith.” The insured …
Coverage Doesn’t Stick in Teflon dispute
6/27/22
By: Erin Lamb
At its Petersburg, New York plant, Tonoga, Inc. made products and materials coated with polytetrafluoroethylene, better known by its trade name, Teflon. Before 2013, when making Teflon, Tonoga used perfluorooctanoic acid, perfluorooctane sulfonate, or a combination of …
Eleventh Circuit Finds for Insurer in COVID-19 Case of First Impression in Georgia
6/6/22
FMG partners Phil Savrin and Shawn Bingham successfully represented Allied Insurance Company of America (a Nationwide entity) in resisting a claim by a restaurant (Henry’s Louisiana Grill) seeking coverage for business income lost after it suspended its operations after the …
Down It Goes! Illinois Prejudgment Interest Struck Down – What To Do Now
5/31/22
By: Jonathan Schwartz and Patrick Eckler
Judge Marcia Maras of the Circuit Court of Cook County struck down as violative of the Illinois state constitution, PA 102-0006, which permits prejudgment interest in personal injury and wrongful death cases. This ruling …
5/24/22
By: Barry Miller
Can the same conduct be unintentional, under a broad reading of the word “intent,” and still be intentional under a narrower test? A recent opinion from a Kentucky federal seems to suggest that an insured can lose …
5/23/22
By: Edward Storck
The recent decision in Tamara Dorfman v. Joscelyn Smith, et al, 342 Conn. 582, 271 A.3d 53 (March 29, 2022), addressed whether an insurer’s alleged conduct during litigation could form the basis of a “bad faith” finding …
4/22/22
In Erika L. McNamara, Willard F. Warren and Kenneth Bennett v. Government Employees Insurance Company, 2022 U.S. App. LEXIS 9090 (11th Cir. Apr. 5, 2022), the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit determined whether …
Chubb unit beats virus coverage suit brought by NJ apparel company
3/25/22
In GK Trading LLC v. Chubb Group of Insurance Cos. et al., the Superior
Court of New Jersey dismissed an apparel company’s suit seeking to have a Chubb
unit cover its losses arising from the coronavirus …
Florida Bad Faith: If Insurers Try Sometimes, They Just Might Find, They Get Summary Judgment
3/22/22
By: Matthew Boyer and Jessica Cauley
On February 15, 2022, the Eleventh Circuit filed an unpublished opinion interpreting Florida’s bad faith law arising out of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida. Ellis v. GEICO Gen. …
The 11th Circuit deals blow to Employer’s Liability exclusion finding ambiguities under Alabama law
3/15/22
By: Mallory Ball
In James River Insurance Company v. Ultratec Special Effects Inc., 2022 U.S. App. LEXIS 1120 (11th Cir. Jan. 13, 2022), the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, applying Alabama law, determined the “any insured” language in the …
3/3/22
By: Lee Whatling
Last month, the Eleventh Circuit issued an unpublished, per curiam opinion reaffirming its interpretation of Georgia’s bad faith law that authorizes summary judgment “if there is any reasonable ground for the insurer to contest the claim” even …