Policy Conditions, Considerations, Construction, and Formation Archives - Page 8 of 14

September 19, 2013 Policy Conditions, Considerations, Construction, and Formation

No Coverage For Nightclub Dancer Set on Fire by Patron

Mount Vernon Fire Ins. Corp. v. Oxnard Hospitality Ent. Inc.,
Court of Appeal of the State of California, Second Appellate District, Division Three (September 16, 2013)
An employee of the insured appealed a California trial court decision which held that Mount Vernon had no duty to cover a $10 million award. The award was granted to the employee after she was set on fire by a third party at the insured’s bar.

The employee sued her employer and others for negligence after she sustained serious …

August 27, 2013 Policy Conditions, Considerations, Construction, and Formation

Missouri Supreme Court Levies Insurer with Judgment $3 Million in Excess of Policy Limits in TCPA Case

Columbia Cas. Co. v. Hiar Holding, LLC
(Mo. Aug. 13, 2013)
The Missouri Supreme Court recently ordered an insurer to indemnify its insured for a $5 million settlement in an underlying Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) case, $3 million of which was in excess of the policy’s limits.

The TCPA provides a private right of action for recipients of unsolicited communications that are sent via automatic dialers, among other methods. A recipient may bring an action to recover $500 per violation, as well as treble …

August 22, 2013 Policy Conditions, Considerations, Construction, and Formation

Calculation of Defense Contribution Not Reliant On Same Layer of Coverage

Continental Casualty Company v. National Union Fire Insurance Company of Pittsburgh, PA
(D.C. Minn. Case 09-cv-00287-JRT-JJG, August 9, 2013)

In a coverage matter involving exposure to benzene, one insurer, among five others, sought additional contribution from another for defense costs. Previously, the Minnesota Federal Court had granted summary judgment in favor of the plaintiff insurer, finding that the defendant insurer owed one-seventh of the defense costs associated with the action pursuant to Cargill, Inc. v. Ace Am. Ins. Co., 784 N.W.2d 341, 354 (Minn. …

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

Court Won’t Kick Out Class Action Kickback Claims Against HSBC

Moriba Ba v. HSBC USA, Inc.
United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
June 26, 2013
The plaintiffs, Moriba Ba, Donald Chipp, Sherrica Chipp, Shawn Hunt, Eugene Murano, and Yolanda Wiggins filed a class action complaint, alleging that HSBC USA Inc. received kickbacks from private mortgage insurers, in violation of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act of 1974 (RESPA) and common law unjust enrichment by the defendants. The plaintiffs allege that they obtained home mortgage loans from the HSBC defendants. However, because …

July 3, 2013 Policy Conditions, Considerations, Construction, and Formation

10th Circuit Doesn’t Agree with ACA Rule on For-Profit Religious Organization Exemptions

Hobby Lobby Stores Inc. et al. v. Sebelius et al.
June 27, 2013
The plaintiff in Hobby Lobby Stores Inc. et al. v. Sebelius et al. operates 525 retail stores across the country and employs more than 13,000 full-time workers. The family which owns the Oklahoma-based company says having to provide coverage for the morning-after pill and similar contraceptives, which they regard as tantamount to abortion, violates their Christian beliefs.

The 10th Circuit found that the for-profit employer may be entitled to an exemption …

July 1, 2013 Policy Conditions, Considerations, Construction, and Formation

Too Little, Too Late: Malpractice Coverage Evaporates With Law Firm’s Tardy Notice

Minnesota Lawyers Mut. Ins. Co. v. Baylor & Jackson, PLLC
(4^thCir. (Md.) June 27, 2013)

The Fourth Circuit recently held that a malpractice insurer was not obligated to defend or indemnify a law firm against a multi-million dollar lawsuit arising from the firm’s failure to submit admissible evidence in opposition to a motion for summary judgment. The court held that the firm breached the policy’s notice provision by waiting until an appellate court affirmed the lower court’s ruling granting summary judgment against its …

June 24, 2013 Policy Conditions, Considerations, Construction, and Formation

U.K. Court puts Insurer to Bed Over Blanket Notification

McManus Seddon Runhams v European Risk Insurance Company, [2013] EWHC 18 (Ch)

A recent United Kingdom decision from the High Court of Justice held blanket notifications valid to claim coverage under a professional indemnity insurance (PII) policy. The case provides helpful guidance to law firms with PII on what constitutes a valid notification of circumstance under a PII policy.

In October 2010, the law firm of McManus Seddon Runhams (McManus) acquired Sekhon Firth (Sekhon). By May 2012, McManus discovered 17 breach of fiduciary duty …

June 18, 2013 Policy Conditions, Considerations, Construction, and Formation

Nothing Comes Between Me and My Calvins…Except an Uncovered Trademark Infringement Lawsuit

CGS Indus., Inc. v. Charter Oak Fire Ins. Co.
|(2^nd Cir. (N.Y.) June 11, 2013
The Second Circuit recently held that the phrase “infringement of title” in a liability policy does not encompass trademark infringement. Thus, the court found that a liability insurer was not obligated to indemnify its insured (not Calvin Klein) against a claim for allegedly copying the claimant’s rear-pocket stitching design in its jeans. The decision is noteworthy because it puts to rest policyholders’ argument, at least in New York, that …

June 12, 2013 Policy Conditions, Considerations, Construction, and Formation

Locked Out – Excess Insurer Can’t Break Into Underlying Claims

ProBuild Holdings, Inc. et al. v. Granite State Insurance Company et al.

The plaintiff-insured is a supplier of residential and commercial building materials and was sued many times over for providing Chinese-manufactured drywall to a number of builders and homeowners. Extensive discovery was conducting in the underlying litigation which the plaintiff ultimately resolved via two massive settlements. The plaintiff brought this suit against its primary and excess insurers seeking indemnification for a portion of the settlement costs and its defense costs.

In that litigation, …

June 7, 2013 Policy Conditions, Considerations, Construction, and Formation

Dismissal of Class Action Against Title Insurer Upheld; Duty Alleged By Appellants’ Have No Support in Florida Law

Bleich et al. v. Chicago Title Insurance Co.,
Third District Court of Appeal, Florida; Case number 3D12-1261
Plaintiffs Arthur Bleich and Gloris Elder (plaintiffs) appealed an award of summary judgment in favor of the defendant, Chicago Title Insurance Company (Chicago Title), dismissing the underlying class action lawsuit against Chicago Title for claims of overcharging for title insurance. The lower court granted summary judgment on the basis that Florida law did not require Chicago Title to search for homeowners’ prior insurance policies to see if they …