Illinois Court Finds No Breach in Insurance Company’s Decision Not to Defend

Last week, the Illinois Appellate Court affirmed the lower court’s ruling in Illinois Emcasco Insurance Company v. Nationwide Mutual Insurance that Emcasco did not breach its duty to defend a construction contractor against a personal injury suit. This appellate court panel did, however, reverse the lower court’s ruling that Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company breached its duty to settle this personal injury suit within its policy limits.

The underlying injury lawsuit stemmed from a 1998 construction accident filed against Triumph Development Corporation, the project’s general contractor, …

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Fifth Circuit Finds No “Personal Injury” or “Advertising Injury” in Trade Secret Misappropriation Suit

In Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. v. Gum Tree Property Management, LLC, No. 14-60302, 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 595 (5th Cir. Jan. 14, 2015), the Fifth Circuit affirmed the district court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of Nationwide and certain third-party defendants, finding that Nationwide did not have a duty to defend or indemnify the insureds in the underlying lawsuit.

Lexington Relocation Services, LLC (“Lexington”) brought the underlying lawsuit against three related insureds (“Gum Tree Defendants”) alleging that one of Lexington’s former employees had …

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