July 31, 2020
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 …
July 31, 2018
Harvey Weinstein is locked in a messy battle with insurance companies over his steadily mounting legal bills. The insurance giant Chubb and other carriers that wrote liability policies for Weinstein and his film company are arguing in court that they …
January 3, 2017
Nicholas Fiocchi sued Ronald Zatyco for assaulting him after a verbal argument between them at a bar earlier the same evening. Fiocchi’s complaint in Pennsylvania state court attempted by artful pleading to capture Zatyco’s parents’ homeowners coverage, alleging that the …
December 22, 2016
The Wisconsin Supreme Court eliminates any doubt that there is no exception to the four-corners rule in duty to defend cases in Wisconsin. In a split decision, the Wisconsin Supreme Court in Water Well Solutions Service Group, Inc. v. Consolidated …
October 18, 2016
A typical criminal act exclusion states that there is no coverage for bodily injury or property damage arising out of any criminal act. Typically the exclusion applies regardless of whether the insured is actually charged with or convicted of a …
June 16, 2016
The American Law Institute (ALI) is the preeminent independent legal organization in the United States producing scholarly work in the legal field, including its “Restatement of the Law” treatises which are meant to inform practitioners on general principles of common …
June 1, 2016
Generally, the duty to defend extends to cases in which the complaint contains several theories or causes of action against the insured and only one of the theories is within the policy’s coverage limits. See, e.g., Country Mutual Ins. Co. …
May 18, 2016
It is well known that courts require insurers to defend their insured if there is any possibility that coverage may potentially exist. Under New York law, the duty to defend is triggered whenever the allegations of a complaint, liberally construed, …
April 25, 2014
The Defense Research Institute (DRI) Insurance Law Committee Insurance 101 series will return this summer. This is a series of live programs that can be watched from the convenience of home or office. The three-part series will introduce a broadly …
March 5, 2014
The Court of Appeals of New York recently revisited its decision in K2 Inv. Group, LLC v. American Guar. & Liab. Ins. Co., reversing its prior ruling and finding that an insurer that breaches its duty to defend is not …