Insurer Must Replace All Siding Even Though Only Two Sides Damaged The Seventh Circuit (Judges Easterbrook, Kanne, and Hamilton), applying Illinois law, held insurer was required to cover the cost to replace aluminum siding on all sides of the buildings owned by the insured, even though the wind and hail damage occurred on two sides of the buildings, because the... Read More

No Duty to Defend Mediation Despite Related Lawsuit The Illinois First District Appellate Court, in an opinion written by Justice Cunningham with Justices Delort and Harris concurring, applying Illinois law, upheld the trial court’s decision which found no duty to defend a mediation regarding liability for environmental contamination despite the fact that a related lawsuit was later filed by a... Read More

1) Public Policy Precludes Application of Notice Prejudice Rule; 2) Polluted State’s Law Applies Public Policy Precludes Application of Notice Prejudice Rule – California Supreme Court Responding to certified questions from the Ninth Circuit Federal Court of Appeals, the California Supreme court declared that California’s notice-prejudice rule is a fundamental public policy in relation to a choice-of-law analysis.  It also held... Read More

“As Reported” Exclusion Applies to Claims Reported as of Policy Effective Date In July, the Seventh Circuit, in an opinion written by Circuit Judge Barrett, reversed the district court and entered summary judgment in favor of the insurer.  At that time, the Seventh Circuit found the “as reported” language in the policy at issue precluded coverage for the underlying lawsuit,... Read More

“Annual” Pilot Training Cannot Be Completed During Policy Term if Not Completed in Previous Policy Years The Illinois First District Appellate Court, in an opinion written by Justice Gordon, applying Illinois law, reversed the lower court’s ruling that damage to an insured’s airplane was covered by a specialty insurance policy.  The lower court reasoned that coverage existed because it found... Read More

Umbrella Not Triggered by $20M Consent Judgment Which Also Violated Voluntary Payments and No Action Clauses The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee, applying Tennessee law, found no breach of contract and held that the umbrella insurer had no liability for a $20 million Consent Judgment because the underlying was not exhausted prior to the entering... Read More

$8M Water Damage Reformation Claim Withstands Motion to Dismiss The United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, applying Illinois law, in an opinion written by Judge John Z. Lee, held that Travelers Indemnity Company (“Travelers”) may be responsible for damage caused to eight floors of the Pittsfield Building (the “Building”) in downtown Chicago even though owner of... Read More

No Aggregate Limits for Long-Tail Environmental Claims If Policy Not Rated on Renumeration Basis A trial court in Michigan, applying Michigan law, held that the primary comprehensive general liability insurance policies at issue did not contain aggregate limits for long-tail environmental insurance claims. From 1951 to 1987, Tecumseh Products Company, LLC (“Tecumseh”) had primary general liability policies from Travelers Indemnity Company,... Read More

Excess Policy Sublimit Applies for Wrongful Death Claim The Seventh Circuit, in an opinion written by Judge Easterbrook, applying Illinois law, upheld a district court decision that found an excess insurance policy’s $250,000 sublimit for physical abuse claims applied to a wrongful death action. In the underlying action, Baby Fold, a foster-care service provider, placed three-year-old Kianna Rudesill with foster parents... Read More

Appraisal Action is a Covered Securities Claim and Pre-Judgment Interest Part of “Loss” The Superior Court of Delaware, applying Delaware law, determined that an appraisal action constitutes a “Securities Claim” under a Directors’ and Officers’ (“D&O”) insurance policy.  The court also found that pre-judgment interest might be covered under a D&O policy pending the appropriate fact scenario. Solera Holdings, Inc. (“Solera”)... Read More