Disclosure to 3rd Party a “Publication” – “Violation of Statutes” Exclusion Not Applicable to BIPA Claim The Illinois Appellate Court for the First District, in an opinion written by Justice Mikva with Justices Connor and Harris concurring, applying Illinois law, affirmed the Circuit Court’s ruling and held that the insurer had a duty to defend claims for violations of the... Read More

Insurer’s Settlement of Fracking Blast Case Not “Voluntary Payment” Barring Recovery from Co-Insurer The Tenth Circuit, applying Wyoming law, held that a commercial auto insurer had no duty to defend or indemnify its insured for a personal injury lawsuit arising out of a fire at a fracking site.  The Tenth Circuit held that the commercial auto insurer was to be... Read More

Consent to Settle Clauses Are Not Against Public Policy and Are Enforceable The Massachusetts Supreme Court, applying Massachusetts law, upheld the trial court’s ruling and held that consent to settle clauses in professional liability policies are not against public policy and are enforceable.  Thus, an insurer is not liable for its insured’s refusal to settle litigation. Homeowners Douglas Rawan and Kristen... Read More

Pieces of Rock a “Pollutant” Under Pollution Exclusion The Fifth Circuit, applying Texas law, affirmed the District Court’s finding that coverage for an unplanned discharge of rock fines, pellets produced during the course of quarry operations, is excluded by a pollution exclusion.  The Fifth Circuit found that when the effects of the discharge were looked at as a whole, the... Read More

“Discovery Rule” Does Not Toll Statute of Limitations in Negligent Procurement Action The Illinois Appellate Court for the First District, in an opinion written by Justice Burke with Justices Lampkin and Reyes concurring, applying Illinois law, held that a two-year statute of limitations applies to a claim for negligent procurement against an agent.  Per Illinois Supreme Court precedent, the two-year... Read More

Aggregate Corridor Deductible Applies Within Limits The Seventh Circuit, in an opinion written by Judge Hamilton, applied Illinois law and affirmed the District Court’s ruling that an Aggregate Corridor Deductible eroded the limits of the excess policy at issue.  The Seventh Circuit used extrinsic evidence to interpret the ambiguous policy provision. Lexington Insurance Company (“Lexington”) and National Union Fire Insurance Company... Read More

Email Scheme Losses Covered Despite Assertions That “Fraudulent Instructions” Didn’t Directly Cause Loss In December 2019, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, applying Georgia law, affirmed a decision by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, which granted summary judgment to Principle Solutions Group L.L.C. (“PSG”), an information technology company.  The Eleventh Circuit held that Ironshore Indemnity,... Read More

Unspecified Alleged Personal Property Damage in Construction Defect Complaint Sufficient to Trigger Duty to Defend The Illinois Appellate Court for the First District, in an opinion written by Justice Ellis with Justices McBride and Cobbs concurring, applying Illinois, reversed the Circuit Court’s ruling and held that the underlying complaint’s allegations against a contractor relating to damage to personal property constituted... Read More

Multiple Limits of Liability Do Not Render Anti-Stacking Provision Ambiguous In an unanimous decision, the Illinois Supreme Court, applying Illinois law, reversed the lower courts’ judgments and held that a multi-vehicle automobile insurance policy is not so ambiguous that the liability limit for all covered vehicles may be stacked in violation of an anti-stacking policy provision. TJay Klamm caused a serious... Read More

Exception to Special Hazards Exclusion Does Not Affirmatively Create Coverage for Pollution The U.S. District Court of Massachusetts, applying Massachusetts law, granted summary judgement in favor of an insurer and held that a Total Pollution Exclusion barred coverage.  The insured argued that the policy was ambiguous due to an exception to a Special Hazards and Fluids Limitation exclusion, and thus,... Read More