duty to defend News

Hawaii Supreme Court Rules Insurers Can’t Recoup Defense Costs from Insureds

An insurer cannot seek reimbursement from its insured for the cost of defending a lawsuit after learning that no coverage was owed unless the policy says it can, the Hawaii Supreme Court ruled. “Hawaii’s stout duty to defend clashes with …

No Duty to Defend Doesn’t Mean No Duty to Indemnify, 5th Circuit Rules

A federal appeals court has clarified, at least under the realm of Texas law, when an insurer has a duty to indemnify – even if it has no duty to defend a tort action against the insured thanks to an …

Time Lag Does Not End Insurer’s Duty to Defend, Court Rules

A federal court in New York has reiterated that a time lag between the date a trip-and-fall accident occurred and when the conduct alleged to have caused it took place does not itself relieve an insurer of its duty to …

No Coverage for Alabama Builder Who Delayed Notice of Construction Defect Claims

An Alabama federal court ruled this week that a builder’s commercial general liability insurer has no duty to defend or indemnify against two construction defect lawsuits it faces, because it didn’t notify the insurer in a timely fashion. The U.S. …

Sex Abuse Victim Can’t Challenge Ruling that Insurer Had No Duty to Defend

A victim of childhood sexual abuse cannot challenge a trial court’s decision that an insurer had no duty to defend her abuser from a lawsuit, a panel of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled. The appellate panel on Tuesday …

Texas Supreme Court Validates Exception to 8-Corners Rule

For more than 50 years, insurers have known that their duty to defend a Texas policyholder from a lawsuit must be decided based only on the language of the insurance contract and the allegations made by the plaintiff. The so-called …

5th Circuit: Insurer Has Duty to Defend Lawsuit Over Leaky Roof Despite Policy Exclusion

Siplast Inc., a Dallas-area manufacturer of roof membranes, purchased a liability policy that excluded coverage for any damages to its own work or products. That doesn’t mean the insurer has no duty defend its policyholder against a lawsuit that alleges …

Delaware Supreme: Insurers Have No Duty to Defend Rite Aid Against Opioid Lawsuits

Chubb Ltd. has no duty to defend Rite Aid Corp. against lawsuits filed by two Ohio counties that allege the drug store chain’s failure to identify suspicious orders contributed to an oversupply of opioids that forced the plaintiffs to pay …

Nevada Supreme: Insurer Entitled to Reimbursement for Defense Costs if No Coverage Owed

An insurer that paid to defend a policyholder against a lawsuit, but determined later that no coverage was owed, is entitled to reimbursement for its costs, a divided Nevada Supreme Court said. In a 4-3 decision on Thursday, the high …

Insurer Must Defend Landlord in Security Deposit Lawsuit Despite Policy Exclusion

A policy that sought to limit exposure from any disputes about security deposits did not protect the insurer from having to defend a landlord against a class-action lawsuit claiming state laws were not followed, a federal appellate court ruled. In …