Jeffrey L. Kingsley, Author at The Insurance & Reinsurance Report

The Fourth Circuit recently held that the amount of attorney’s fees sought by an insured in a declaratory judgment action should be included in the calculation to determine whether an insurance coverage case satisfies the amount-in-controversy requirement under the federal removal statute.

In 2008, the insured, a California resident, and her minor son were sued in the Maryland state court. The claimant worked as a resident aide at the Maryland School for the Deaf …

March 7, 2013 Environmental

Fifth Circuit Reverses District Court, Holds BP Was Entitled to Additional Insured Coverage Under Insurer’s Policy for Environmental Claims

In Re: Deep Water Horizon; Ranger Ins. Ltd. v. TransOcean Offshore Deepwater Drilling, Inc. et. al. (5^th Cir., March 1, 2013)

This environmental coverage action arises from the explosion and sinking of Transocean’s Deepwater Horizon oil platform in April 2010. At issue were the obligations of Transocean’s primary and excess liability insurer to cover BP’s pollution-related environmental liabilities resulting from the ensuing oil spill. Transocean owned the subject offshore oil platform and at the time of the incident and was engaged in exploratory drilling …

February 4, 2013 Policy Conditions, Considerations, Construction, and Formation

England’s Court of Appeal Clarifies Questions Concerning Apportionment of Losses in Professional Indemnity Policy

Standard Life Assurance Ltd v ACE European Group [2012] EWCA Civ 1713

This case concerns whether the insured was entitled to recover, without apportionment, the full amount of its first party claim (as opposed to a third party claim), which it paid under a “mitigation costs” clause in a professional liability policy covering the insured against third party claims arising out of the provision of financial services.

The insured, Standard Life Assurance Ltd (SLAL), launched a fund in 1996 which was described as being equivalent …

January 28, 2013 Arbitration

Arbitrator’s Interlocutory Ruling Not Ripe for Judicial Review

Klehr v. Illinois Farmers Ins. Co.
(Ill. Ct. App. Jan. 22, 2013)

In a matter of first impression in Illinois and nationally, an Illinois Appellate Court recently held that interlocutory rulings by arbitrators are not ripe for judicial review until the arbitration process is complete.

The plaintiff was injured in a hit-and-run accident. She filed a claim with her insurance carrier for uninsured motorist coverage and demanded arbitration under the arbitration provision in her insurance policy. The matter was referred to the American Arbitration Association …

January 23, 2013 Environmental

Mesothelioma sufferer successful in action against owner of factory, although factory owner was not employer

FRANK BAKER v. TATE & LYLE PLC (2012)

Mr. Baker was briefly employed by a company as a lagger’s labourer during the 1963-1964 tax year, when he was 16-years old. At that time, the company sent Mr. Baker to do a job at one of the factories of Tate & Lyle, the defendants in this action. When carrying out his job at Tate & Lyle’s factory, which lasted for about five weeks, Mr. Baker was exposed to substantial quantities of asbestos. Mr. Baker contracted …

January 15, 2013 Reinsurance

To [Follow] or Not to [Follow] – That is the Question: NY Court of Appeals Hears Important Case on Follow-the-Fortunes

The weather in Albany, New York might have been cold on January 2, but the New York Court of Appeals’ bench was scorching during the oral argument for the appeal in United States Fid. & Guaranty v Am. Re-Ins. Co. The five-judge bench fired question after question at counsel concerning important issues concerning the reinsurance industry.

The appeal concerns a reinsurance dispute. More specifically, the appeal concerns whether follow-the-fortunes applies to the post-allocation phase of an insurance payout and whether bad faith serves as an …

January 9, 2013 Life, Health, Disability & ERISA

Seventh Circuit Grants Temporary Restraining Order to Catholic Contractor on Contraception Mandate

Korte v. Sebelius
United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit (December 28, 2012)
On December 28, 2012, the Seventh Circuit issued a temporary restraining order exempting a contracting company from the contraception rule under the Affordable Care Act. This ruling was in line with other courts including the Eighth District in O’Brien v. U.S. Dep’t of Health & Human Servs. as well as other district courts including a Michigan Federal District Court, which granted a temporary restraining order to Domino’s Farms Corp. …

December 17, 2012 Policy Conditions, Considerations, Construction, and Formation

Firearm Exclusion Bars Coverage for Pre-Assault Negligence

Capitol Specialty Ins. Corp. v. JBC Entm’t Holdings, Inc.
(Wash. Ct. App. Dec. 10, 2012)

In a matter of first impression, a Washington Appellate Court recently held that a firearm exclusion unambiguously precluded coverage for negligent hiring and supervision claims related to a shooting at the insured’s nightclub.

The insured, JBC Entertainment Holdings, Inc., operates a nightclub in Seattle, Washington. In 2010, an unknown person fired a gun at the nightclub, injuring a patron. The patron sued the nightclub and one of its employees, asserting …

December 12, 2012 Directors and Officers

Andy Warhol Art Authentication Board Owed Coverage Under Directors and Officers Policy

The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. v. Philadelphia Indemnity Ins. Co., Supreme Court of the State of New York, County of New York (Dec. 6. 2012)
The plaintiffs, Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. and the Andy Warhol Art Authentication Board, Inc., beat a summary judgment motion brought on by their insurer, Philadelphia Indemnity Ins. Co (PIIC), seeking a judgment that it owed no coverage for defense costs incurred in an underlying class action.

The plaintiffs business awards …

October 26, 2012 Policy Conditions, Considerations, Construction, and Formation

BCS Insurance Company Fined by the State of Washington Insurance Commissioner for Issuing Unapproved Policies

On October 22, 2012, The State of Washington Office of the Insurance Commissioner (OIC) fined BCS Insurance Company for issuing policy forms that were not filed with and approved by the OIC. BCS insurance had only two travel insurance policy forms filed and approved by the Washington OIC. Between 2007 and 2009, BCS issued over 500,000 travel insurance policies on up to 72 different forms, that deviated from the two filed and approved forms. The forms omitted language, changed the order of contract sections and …

Author: Jeffrey L. Kingsley

Attorney’s Fees Count Toward Amount-in-Controversy Calculation Under Federal Removal Statute