Hoke LLC was retained by a large publicly traded client after its ERISA claim for benefits was completely denied by its EBL insurer. After making a novel argument that the policy benefits exclusion did not apply, Hoke LLC was able to secure agreement from the carrier to fund the majority of a settlement of the underlying ERISA claim all... Read More
Representing a major asbestos defendant, Steve assisted in securing access to approximately $1.8B in insurance proceeds either collected or committed. This includes recovery from both solvent and insolvent insurers, including some select policy commutations. He secured several significant legal rulings in a related coverage action, including a novel first-of-its-kind “cost-in-addition” recovery from excess insurers and a finding that overseas... Read More
Steve Hoke was retained by a Fortune 500 company to direct the annual multi-line renewal when the Risk Manager left unexpectedly before year-end. He supervised the placement of the D & O, General Liability, general FinPro and other relevant coverages. Read More
Electrical Currents Exclusion Bars Coverage for Damage to City’s Power Station In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court of Iowa, applying Iowa law, affirmed the appellate court’s ruling that an electrical currents exclusion applied to bar coverage for property damage resulting from an electrical arc that was triggered by a squirrel. In November 2014, a squirrel entered an electrical power plant in the City... Read More
Use of Incorrect Ingredient in Baby Formula Not “Physical Injury to Tangible Property.” The Court of Common Pleas of Delaware County Ohio, applying Ohio law, granted summary judgment in favor of an insurer holding that the insurer has no duty to defend or indemnify policyholder in an underlying breach of contract action because the tainted product did not qualify as covered property damage as defined by... Read More
Applying GA Law, Coverage for Welder’s Lung Claim Barred by Pollution Exclusion. In an unpublished opinion, the Eleventh Circuit, applying Georgia law, affirmed a district court decision holding that a lung disease resulting from the inhalation of welding fumes fell within a policy’s pollution exclusion, because it qualified as an injury arising out of the release, escape or dispersal of a pollutant. John Flowers,... Read More
Consumer Fraud, Bad Faith and Misrepresentation Claims Dismissed. In a first party property insurance case, Magistrate Judge Kim, Northern Dist., Eastern Div., IL, dismissed various causes of action including consumer fraud, misrepresentation and bad faith. The Plaintiffs, Propitious, LLC (“Propitious”) and Connacht, LLC, (“Connacht”), sued Badger Mutual Insurance Company (“Badger”) and Society Insurance (“Society”), for coverage under two separate insurance policies for water damage to a... Read More
Triggered Despite Allegations That Defamation Made Knowingly. A federal court for the Central District of Illinois, in an opinion written by Judge Shadid, applied Illinois law and granted an insured’s motion for summary judgment on the duty to defend. The court found that because the policy at issue arguably provided coverage for libel or slander, the insurer had a duty... Read More
CHICAGO: Hoke LLC represents the policyholder plaintiff in the lead case listed by prominent legal website Insurance Law 360 as Insurance Cases to Watch in 2019 in the United States. See Link. On behalf of Vanderbilt Minerals, LLC, Hoke LLC prevailed both at trial and on appeal on the major legal issues impacting the insurer defendants’ coverage obligations. The... Read More
No Coverage for Refinery Fire and EPA Violations Indemnification Claim A district court in Arkansas, applying Arkansas law, granted Liberty Mutual Fire Insurance Co.’s (“Liberty Mutual”) motion for summary judgment finding that all of the claims at issue for indemnification against its insured, Murphy Oil Corporation (“Murphy”), fell squarely within its policy exclusion for liability because of “assumption of liability in a contract or agreement.” The... Read More
