Hoke LLC is proud to welcome Rob Muriel to the firm as a Partner. Rob joins Hoke LLC after successfully completing his term as the Director of the Illinois Department of Insurance. It is unprecedented for a Director to join a policyholder recovery firm, as opposed to representing insurer interests. It speaks to Rob’s commitment to our mission of... Read More
Amazon Not a Seller When Third-Party Sellers Involved The Ninth Circuit, applying Arizona law, affirmed the District Court’s ruling of summary judgment in favor of Amazon.com, Inc. and Amazon.com (jointly, “Amazon”) regarding State Farm Fire and Casualty Co.’s (“State Farm”) subrogation claims for strict liability and negligence. The Ninth Circuit held Amazon is not a seller of products sold on... Read More
Report to Police 11 Days after Accident is “as Soon as Practicable” The Illinois Appellate Court for the First District, in an opinion written by Justice Lampkin with Justice Burke concurring and Justice Gordon concurring in part and dissenting in part, applying Illinois law, reversed the Circuit Court’s ruling and held that the relevant insurance policy only required an insured... Read More
Manufacturers Not Liable for Failure to Warn About the Dangers of Post-Sale Asbestos-Containing Materials The Supreme Court of Tennessee, in an opinion written by Judge Page in which Chief Judge Bivins, Judge Clark, and Judge Kirby joined, applying Tennessee law, held in a products liability action stemming from occupational exposure to asbestos that the manufacturers of certain equipment (the “Equipment... Read More
Closure due to Governor’s Orders Not “Direct Physical Loss” The United State District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, in memorandum and order written by Judge Harry D. Leinenweber, applying Illinois law, granted The Cincinnati Insurance Company’s (“Cincinnati”) motion to dismiss plaintiff, T & E Chicago LLC’s (“T & E”), four-count putative class action complaint. The court found that... Read More
Chicago: Illinois Governor Pritzker announced today that Rob Muriel, who has served as the Director of the Illinois Department of Insurance since early in his administration, will be leaving public service on December 11, 2020. “Director Muriel’s legal background and knowledge of insurance laws has been an asset to Illinois’ effective regulation of the insurance industry. He was at... Read More
Broad Exclusion Applies Even to Claims Regarding Sale Through Intermediary The 1st District Appellate Court of Illinois, in an opinion by Justice Gordon, affirmed the trial court’s grant of summary judgement for The Hanover Insurance Company (“Hanover”) against its insureds, holding that Hanover did not have a duty to defend due to a broad “Products and Services Liability” exclusion in... Read More
Extrinsic Facts Outside of Complaint Not Permissible in Determining Duty to Defend The Illinois Appellate Court for the Second District, in an opinion written by Justice Hutchinson with Justices Birkett and Schostok concurring, applying Illinois law, affirmed the opinion of the trial court and held Pekin Insurance Company (“Pekin”) did not have a duty to defend McKeown Classic Homes,... Read More
No Conflict Unless Two Mutually Exclusive Theories of Liability The United State District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, in memorandum and order written by Judge Feinerman, applying Illinois law, granted Westfield National Insurance Company’s (“Westfield”) motion for summary judgment and declared that the insured, Builders Concrete Services, LLC (“Builders”), was not entitled to independent counsel in a... Read More
Government Shutdown for COVID-19 Not “Direct Physical Loss” The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois Eastern Division, in an opinion by Judge Gettleman, applying Illinois law, dismissed a complaint brought by a dentist office against its insurer seeking a declaration that the insurer must provide coverage for losses due to the government-ordered closure because of the COVID-19... Read More
