Johnson & Johnson Refiles Talc Bankruptcy The Third Circuit, in an opinion by Judge Ambro, dismissed Johnson & Johnson’s (“J&J”) Texas Two-Step bankruptcy attempt to place one of its subsidiaries holding talc liabilities in Chapter 11 bankruptcy, reasoning that the debtor did not suffer from financial distress. Facing nearly forty thousand claims for manufacturing baby powder allegedly containing carcinogenic talc, J&J... Read More
Defense Costs Owed under Media Liability Coverage The Appellate Court of Illinois for the First District, applying New York law due to a choice of law provision, held that Certain Underwriters at Lloyd’s London (“Lloyd’s”) had an obligation to pay for defense expenses for its insured, a technology company, in an underlying lawsuit that alleged the insured violated the Illinois... Read More
$25M in Remedial Measures to Prevent Harm Not Property Damage The United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, in an opinion by Judge Kendall applying Illinois law, granted summary judgment in favor of three insurers holding the insurers did not have a coverage obligation to a general contractor for a multimillion-dollar settlement award relating to the subcontractor... Read More
Defense Expenses Exhaust SIR The Southern District of Florida, applying Florida law, held that class action defense expenses incurred by a Florida agricultural business eroded the applicable $1 million self-insured retention (“SIR”) despite the fact that the policy contained another contradictory SIR endorsement. The coverage dispute arose when US Sugar Corporation (“US Sugar”) successfully defended itself against a class-action lawsuit alleging... Read More
A Comprehensive Index of BIPA Insurance Coverage Cases In May 2021, the Illinois Supreme Court ruled on the seminal Illinois insurance coverage case for underlying actions alleging violations of the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act 740 ILCS 14/1 et seq. (West 2018) (“BIPA”), West Bend Mut. Ins. Co. v. Krishna Schaumburg Tan, Inc., 2021 IL 125978. It held West Bend... Read More
A Potential Existential Threat to Companies Doing Business in Illinois Lawyers are always on the lookout for “the next big thing.” It may be here. In 2008, Illinois became the first state to enact a biometric privacy law that prohibits private companies from collecting, capturing, purchasing, receiving through trade, or otherwise obtaining a person’s biometric information without informing and receiving... Read More
Failure to Authorize Euthanasia Not Breach of Mortality Coverage The United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, applying Indiana law, affirmed the District Court’s grant of summary judgment in the insurer’s favor, holding that Great American Assurance Company (“Great American”) did not breach the insurance agreement under either mortality coverage or Major Medical Endorsement (“MME”), and did not... Read More
Insurer Unable to Prove Existence of Products Hazard Exclusion The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, applying Louisiana law, held that there were genuine issues of material fact, denying insurer American Insurance Company’s (“AIC”) motions for summary judgment, which were based on an alleged products hazard exclusion and lack of exposure during the policy period to... Read More
Asbestos Exclusion Encompasses All Related Claims of Negligence The Louisiana Appellate Court, Fourth Circuit, applying Louisiana law, affirmed the trial court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of StarStone National Insurance Company (“StarStone”), holding that plaintiff Tuna Construction LLC’s (“Tuna’s”) insurance policy’s asbestos exclusion applied to all related claims, and thus StarStone did not have a duty to defend Tuna. Tuna... Read More
Court Cannot Impose a Duty to Settle on Policyholder With a SIR The United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, in an opinion written by Judge Easterbrook, applying Illinois law, affirmed the district court’s dismissal of North American Elite Insurance Company’s (“North American”) claims for breach of contract, holding that the insured, Menard, Inc. (“Menard”), did not breach... Read More
