Publications

This year, the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) issued its first-ever national, legally enforceable drinking water standard to protect communities from exposure to harmful per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (“PFAS”), also known as “forever chemicals.”[1] In addition, the Food and Drug Administration announced that grease-proofing materials containing PFAS are no longer being sold for use in food packaging […]

On September 27, 2024, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed Bill No. A10342 into law, authorizing the issuance of stand-alone business interruption insurance coverage. This bill was introduced and passed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced many businesses to close temporarily as a result of government shutdown orders. Many affected businesses submitted insurance […]

The Florida Legislature recently passed House Bill 1021 which amended Florida Statute § 718.124. The July 1, 2024 amendment changes Florida’s statute of repose (“SOR”) trigger date for condominium projects. Now, the SOR trigger for existing condominium projects will be governed by Florida Statute §718.124, not Florida Statute § 95.11. Most critically, Florida Statute § […]

California’s complex saga of long-tail injury coverage under general liability policies took an interesting turn in the California Supreme Court’s recent decision in Truck Ins. Exch. v. Kaiser Cement.¹  In Truck, the court made it clear that Insureds can access excess policy limits without first exhausting all triggered underlying primary coverage, provided the underlying limits for the same policy period have been exhausted.

A recent decision by a federal court helps clear the path to coverage for property owners this hurricane season. The Court deemed one property policy’s flood exclusion inapplicable to bar coverage for water damage from backed-up drainage and overflow caused by excessive rainfall. The case, styled G.E.M.S. Partners LLC v. AmGUARD Ins. Co., — F.Supp. 3d —, No. CV 22-1664, 2024 WL 3568932 (D.N.J. July 29, 2024)), involved a familiar dispute between the insured and insurer following damage to covered property after a named storm’s heavy rainfall.

Trouble persists for policyholders seeking coverage for Biometric Information Privacy Act (“BIPA”) litigation after the recent decision by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois in Westfield Insurance Company v. UCAL Systems, Inc. d/b/a AMTEC PRECISION PRODUCTS, et al.¹   The District Court held that the Recording and Distribution of Material of Information of Law Exclusion applies to violations of BIPA and, thus, excludes coverage under Commercial General Liability (CGL) policies with similar exclusionary language.

Overview Several states utilize a unique statutory mechanism to allow school districts to finance the construction of public-school facilities. This arrangement (known as a “lease-leaseback agreement”) allows a school district to lease property to a contractor/developer, who then constructs or renovates a school facility on the property. Once the work is completed, the contractor/developer leases […]

Despite best intentions, sometimes policyholders encounter challenges adhering to the applicable statute of limitations or their policy’s limitation of suit deadline. In complex insurance claims, identifying, comprehending, and accurately quantifying significant and long-term losses may take several years. Even when all losses are readily apparent, the insurer may invest months or years in scrutinizing the […]

Effective August 1, 2024, the NCAA will provide excess injury insurance coverage to student-athletes for athletic injuries for two years, beginning on a student-athlete’s date of separation from its member institution. The policy, with a coverage limit of $90,000 per injury and no deductible burden on the athlete, will be issued through Mutual of Omaha […]

Additional insured endorsements often provide “blanket” coverage to persons or organizations as required by a written contract. However, the wording of the “blanket” language is critically important, as the inclusion of certain phrases in an additional insured endorsement can result in a denial of coverage for the upstream party. For example, risk transfer issues can […]

As Florida insurers continue their attempts to narrow protections for policyholders, it is imperative – now more than ever – that insureds be well-informed and know their rights. Most recently, in Florida, insurers are attempting to weaponize the death of Senate Bill 1726 and House Bill 1287 to limit the documents disclosed to policyholders. Specifically, […]

On November 21, 2022, in the first case ever to reach a jury against the National Collegiate Athletic Association (“NCAA”), a Los Angeles County jury found the NCAA was not responsible for the death of former University of Southern California linebacker Matthew Gee. Gee played for the Trojans when the team won the Rose Bowl […]