duty to defend News

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 …

Weinstein Insurers Balk at Paying Legal Bills

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 …

No Homeowner Liability Coverage for an Insured’s ‘Negligent’ Assault, Even if Insured Was Intoxicated

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 …

No Exceptions: Wisconsin Supreme Court Upholds Four Corners Rule

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 …

Beyond a Reasonable Doubt is Key for Application to Criminal Acts Exclusion

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 …

The ALI Adopts Significant Portions of the ‘Restatement of the Law of Liability Insurance’

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 …

Plaintiff’s Prayer for Coverage is Answered in Illinois

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. …

New York Case is Assault and Battery Plain and Simple

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, …