Ohio Supreme Court News

Ohio Supreme Ct. Holds Repose Statute Applies to Wrongful Death, Derivative Claims

A divided Ohio Supreme Court on Thursday drew a bright line around the state’s statute of repose for medical malpractice claims, ruling in separate cases that an absolute four-year deadline to bring an action applies to both wrongful death claims …

Ohio Supreme Ct. Upholds Escape Clause in Progressive Auto Liability Policy

Acuity and Progressive Specialty Insurance Co. disputed who should pay after a 16-year-old boy borrowed a friend’s car and crashed it into a utility pole in Streetsboro, Ohio. The driver was insured by Acuity through a policy issued to his …

Ransomware Did Not Cause Direct Physical Loss, Ohio High Court Says

A business owner’s insurance policy did not provide coverage for software damaged by a ransomware attack because there was no direct physical damage or loss, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled. “Computer software cannot experience ‘direct physical loss or physical damage’ …

Ohio Court Rejects Caps on Damages in Some Child Rape Cases

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A woman repeatedly raped as a child is eligible for millions of dollars in additional compensation because a state cap on pain-and-suffering awards is unconstitutional as applied to cases like hers, a divided Ohio Supreme Court …

Ohio Supreme Ct. Rules No Coverage Owed for COVID Business Shutdown

The Ohio Supreme Court ruled Monday that COVID-19 cannot cause any direct physical damage or loss that is covered by a commercial property insurance policy, joining nine other state high courts that have rejected similar business-interruption claims. The Ohio court …

Does a Water Backup Exclusion Include Sewage?

Standard property policies typically contain an exclusion which provides that the insurer “will not pay for loss or damage caused directly or indirectly by . . . water that backs up or overflows from a sewer, drain, or sump.” A …

Ohio Supreme Ct: Insurer Has No Duty to Defend Drug Distributor Against Opioid Lawsuit

An insurer has no duty to defend a drug distributor against lawsuits filed by cities and counties that allege it failed to take proper steps to prevent abuse of prescription opioids, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled Wednesday. In a 5-2 …

Ohio Supreme Finds Ditch Diggers Misclassified as Independent Contractors

Ditch diggers who accepted work assignments online and used their own spades and shovels to do the work cannot be classified as independent contractors by a company that contracted with Time Warner Cable to install underground lines, a divided Ohio …

Ohio High Court Rules Coverage Owed for Contamination That Ruined Product

Contamination that ruined more than $1 million worth of glass containers manufactured by a policyholder’s customer counts as damage that is covered by an umbrella insurance policy, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled Wednesday. The Supreme Court justices unanimously agreed that …

Ohio High Court Hears Lawsuit Over Company’s COVID Losses

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — An Ohio business says its insurance company must compensate it for financial losses suffered during a pandemic-related shutdown. The insurance company refused to pay, saying its policy didn’t cover such losses. The Ohio Supreme Court heard …