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February 3, 2017 Duty to Defend

No Duty, No Problem: Seventh Circuit Finds Absence of Duty for Insurance Broker to Non-Client in Connection with Fraudulent Insurance Scheme

The Seventh Circuit recently handed down a decision in which it refused to recognize a negligence claim against an insurance broker which would have expanded the duties of brokers and agents beyond those articulated in the Illinois Insurance Placement Liability Act (IIPLA), 735 ILCS 5/2 2201. In M.G. Skinner & Associates Insurance Agency v. Norman-Spencer Agency, Inc., No. 15-2290, 2017 U.S. App. LEXIS 63 (7th Cir. Jan. 4, 2017), the Seventh Circuit affirmed the district court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of Norman-Spencer …

January 26, 2017 Duty to Defend / Reservation of Rights

Five Yards for Encroachment: Prematurity Doctrines Found to Preclude Insurer’s Use of Extrinsic Evidence to Evade Coverage

In Pekin Insurance Co. v. St. Paul Lutheran Church, 2016 IL App (4th) 150966, the Illinois Appellate Court refused, based on the Prematurity Doctrine, to consider extrinsic evidence in an insurer’s declaratory judgment action in connection with an underlying wrongful death suit.

As background, Hope Farney, as administrator of the estate of Kitty Mullins, sued St. Paul Lutheran Church (Church) for wrongful death. She alleged that a Church employee, Matthew Geerdes, used his personal vehicle for Church business and negligently crashed into a vehicle …

January 18, 2017 Duty to Defend

Don’t Let The Door Hit You on the Way Out: Insurer Loses Coverage Suit Involving Injuries Sustained By Fitting Room Door

In Selective Insurance Co. of South Carolina v. Target Corporation, No. 16-1669, 2016 U.S. App. LEXIS 23370 (7th Cir. Dec. 29, 2016), the Seventh Circuit affirmed an Illinois district court’s decision finding coverage for an additional insured after parsing through the language of two contractual agreements.

The coverage dispute arose when a customer shopping at a Target store was injured after a fitting room door came off and fell on her in December 2011. The customer filed suit against Target, alleging it was negligent …

December 1, 2016 Duty to Defend

No Complaint, No Duty to Defend: An Insurer’s Duty To Defend Does Not Arise from Unfiled Draft Complaints

In Philadelphia Indemnity Insurance Co. v. Pace Suburban Bus Service, 2016 IL App (1st) 151659, the Illinois Appellate Court provided keen insights into when the duty to defend is triggered and when an action for equitable contribution can be maintained.

As background, Pace Suburban Bus Services and Countryside Association for People with Disabilities entered into a leasing agreement whereby Pace would provide Countryside with a van, which would be driven by a Countryside employee, for the purposes of transporting disabled individuals to Countryside’s facility. …

October 26, 2016 Uncategorized

Court Finds Ambiguity Over When Property Damage Commenced

Ambiguity surrounding the term “commencing” led a court to deny an insurer’s motion seeking to dismiss an insured’s property damage claim, despite the insured’s inability to state when the property damage at issue first occurred. In a question of first impression, a federal district court in Illinois denied an insurer’s motion for summary judgment earlier this month, ruling that the term “commencing” during the policy period was ambiguous when applied to the circumstances of the case. Temperature Serv. Co. v. Acuity, 2016 U.S. Dist. …

July 28, 2016 Duty to Defend

Seventh Circuit Dispatches Insurer’s Coverage Defenses Against Ambulance Company

The Seventh Circuit affirmed a district court’s summary judgment in favor of an insured, finding that the insured may qualify as being in a “joint venture” with the named insured. In American Alternative Insurance Corp. v. Metro Paramedic Services, Inc. (Jul. 12, 2016), the issue confronting the court was whether allegations in the underlying complaint that the named insured and putative insured were engaged in a joint venture also satisfied the policy’s use of the term “joint venture,” at least for purposes of the insurer’s …

July 25, 2016 Policy Conditions, Considerations, Construction, and Formation

Insurer Accused of Having Ace Up its Sleeve: Insurer Estopped from Relying on Sublimit Due to Defense Counsel’s Failure to Supplement Discovery Responses in Tort Lawsuit

In Harwell v. Fireman’s Fund Insurance Co. of Ohio, 2016 IL App (1st) 152036, the Illinois Appellate Court refused to allow Fireman’s Fund Insurance Company to assert a policy sublimit because defense counsel retained by Fireman’s Fund to represent its insured in the underlying tort lawsuit failed to inform the tort claimant that the sublimit, and not the full limit, applied.

As background, Brian Harwell was injured while working at a construction project supervised by Kipling Development Corporation as a general contractor. Harwell sued …

April 26, 2016 Duty to Defend

Third-Party Complaints and the Duty to Defend – Another Decision Cementing Existing Precedent

In Pekin Insurance Company v. Illinois Cement Company, LLC, the Illinois Appellate Court again addressed the important issue of when third-party complaints can be used in evaluating an insurer’s duty to defend. Due to the circumstances surrounding the third-party complaint in question, the Appellate Court held that it was self-serving and could not be used to show that a putative additional insured was vicariously liable for the acts of the insured.

The facts underlying the coverage dispute involve an action brought by Michael Hanson …

April 25, 2016 Duty to Defend

Up in Smoke: An Insurer Could Not Mount a Successful Coverage Defense Due to Vague Allegations in an E-Cigarette Lawsuit

An Illinois federal district court determined in Diamond State Insurance Company v. Duke that an insurer had a duty to defend its insured in a case involving alleged disparagement. This decision reminds insurers that courts have the ability to the allegations of the underlying complaint even more broadly than ever expected.

The underlying lawsuit was brought by, in pertinent part, DR Distributors, LLC against 21 Century Smoking, Inc. alleging, causes of action for counterfeiting and trademark infringement under the Lanham Act, unfair competition and unfair …

March 23, 2016 Professional Liability

Rescission Available to Insurer Whose Insured Lied in Insurance Application About Use of Experimental Weight Loss Techniques

In Essex Insurance Company v. Galilee Medical Center S.C d/b/a MRI Lincoln Imaging Center, the insured, Galilee, represented to its insurer, Essex, that it did not offer any weight loss drugs to its patients. After a former patient brought suit against Galilee based on complications from injections of a weight loss drug, Essex sought to rescind its policy. The Seventh Circuit Court upheld summary judgment granted to Essex, finding that false statements made by Galilee provided a basis for rescission.

Galilee, a Delaware corporation …