Insurance broker did not have apparent authority to accept notice on behalf of insurer – notice deemed untimely An Illinois federal court, applying Illinois law, held that due to the insured’s failure to provide prompt notice, the insurer was not liable to pay any part of a $2.3M judgment.  The court found that notice to the insured’s insurance broker was... Read More

“No Costs” language unambiguously excludes defense costs from exhausting retained limits The Ninth Circuit affirmed the lower court’s ruling and held that the City of Phoenix (the “City”) was not entitled to coverage for defense or indemnity under various insurance policies because the settlement fell within the retained limit of the policies and the defense costs did not erode the... Read More

Aggregate limits exhausted because claims were from Completed Operations The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed summary judgment issued by a Maryland district court that St. Paul Fire and Marine (“St. Paul”) and U.S. Fire had no further duty to defend or indemnify Walter E. Campbell Co’s (“Campbell”), in asbestos bodily injury claims made against the former insulation company. The insurers... Read More

New York law provides “All Sums” with vertical exhaustion for excess policies with non-cumulation clauses A Virginia federal court, applying New York law, issued a sprawling opinion addressing certain excess insurers’ coverage obligations for its policyholder’s asbestos liabilities.  The court held that non-cumulation clauses in excess policies required an all sums allocation under New York law.  In addition, the court... Read More

Policyholder responsible for periods when insurance unavailable The New York Court of Appeals, applying New York law, held that costs relating to the remediation of gradual, indivisible property contamination must be spread pro rata over the entire period of property damage irrespective of whether or not insurance coverage was available, with the policyholder responsible for any periods during which insurance... Read More

Two different bridge collapses are “related claims” subject to a single per claim limit A North Carolina district court, applying North Carolina law, found that two pedestrian bridge collapses were “related claims,” limiting Continental Casualty Company’s (“Continental”) liability to a $3 million per claim limit, rather than the aggregate $5 million policy limit. Stewart Engineering, Inc. (“Stewart”) was contracted to provide... Read More

Insurer must fund $50M settlement despite assignment of claim to class with agreement not to pursue policyholder A New York district court, applying New York law, granted partial summary judgment, finding that Illinois Union Insurance Company (“Illinois Union”) must fund a nearly $50 million class action settlement for alleged Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”) violations.  The court held that Illinois... Read More

$4.6M award reduced to $25k because plaintiff failed to show the outcome would have been better had the insurer defended The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, in an opinion authored by Justice Easterbrook (joined by Bauer and Rovner), reduced a bad faith judgment from $4.6M plus interest to $25k plus interest.  The action was brought by a plaintiff injured in... Read More

$7.5M for Travelers’ failure to settle within limits and $2.7M §155 attorneys’ fees; estopped from asserting pollution exclusion In a 2-1 opinion, the Illinois Appellate Court for the Fifth District affirmed summary judgment for the policyholder, Rogers Cartage Co., (“Rogers”) against two Travelers units and in favor of Rogers with respect to claims filed by Solutia Inc. and Pfizer Inc.... Read More

Parking lot shooting covered rejecting insurer argument it didn’t result from a defect in the premises. An Illinois appellate court in the first district, applying Illinois law, reversed the trial court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of an insurer and held the insurer had a duty to defend and indemnify the policyholder for claims filed by two individuals who... Read More