Publications

Contract exclusions are common fixtures in directors and officers liability policies; however, they can be broadly interpreted to eliminate valuable coverage. The purpose of this Practice Note is to assist policyholders in identifying whether their policies contain a contract exclusion and providing them practical recommendations to assist in negotiating more favorable language in their policies. […]

In a significant victory for policyholders, the Northern District of Illinois has found a duty to defend under a commercial general liability (“CGL”) policy for damages related to COVID-19. In reaching this decision, the court made several significant findings regarding the scope and interpretation of “damages,” “because of,” and “bodily injury” in the context of […]

After suffering historically destructive fires in 2018, California endured five of the six largest fires in state history in 2020. Nearly 10,000 fires burned over 4.2 million acres making 2020 the most significant California wildfire season on record. Sadly, a recent study from Stanford University2 predicts that the frequency and potency of these fires will only […]

New York is considering legislation, which, if enacted, would create a statute of repose limiting the number of years after completion of a construction project that legal action may be asserted against a contractor. New York currently remains the only state without a statute of repose for construction. Earlier this year, however, the New York […]

Emerald Holding, Inc. v. W.R. Berkley Syndicate Limited and Great Lakes Insurance SE US District Court – Central District of CA; Case No. 8:21-CV-00340 Emerald Holding Inc. (“Emerald”), a leading operator of business-to-business trade show events across the United States, has suffered millions of dollars in losses from canceled or postponed in-person events in order […]

Recently a colleague and I published a whitepaper on New York Labor Laws and Action Over Exclusions, which has drawn some interesting follow-up questions. In particular, several individuals reached out to us about the short reference to State Farm’s policy wording which we categorize as a labor law exclusion. I thought this would be a good […]

The risk of bodily injury lawsuits is an unavoidable reality for property owners and facilities managers (“FMs”) of large commercial sites such as universities, malls, office buildings, or stadiums. Any person who steps foot on the property is a potential plaintiff, including students, tenants, customers, contractors, and vendors. Insurance mitigates these risks, but a property […]

New York law has historically allowed insurers to recoup defense costs paid on behalf of an insured if there is ultimately no coverage for the underlying action, provided that the insurer reserved its rights to seek reimbursement. On December 30, 2020, the New York Appellate Division, Second Department declined to follow this longstanding principle in American […]

In New Jersey Transit Corp. v. Certain Underwriters at Lloyd’s London,1  New Jersey’s highest court upheld an appellate decision2  finding that New Jersey Transit Corporation (“NJT”) was entitled to full coverage under its property insurance policy for damages caused by Superstorm Sandy. In July 2012, NJT secured a multi-layered “all risks” property insurance program from […]

In the case of NextSun Energy Littleton, LLC v. Acadia Ins. Co., the United States District Court of Massachusetts held that once direct physical damage from a covered peril causes a covered business interruption loss, any increase in the duration of such business interruption, due to the enforcement of an ordinance or law, extends the […]

One of the most important methods for shifting risk in the construction context is insurance coverage. Upstream parties such as owner/developers and general contractors typically require that their downstream subcontractors who perform work on their properties or projects bring specific insurance to the table. These insurance requirements have a twofold purpose: protect the upstream parties, […]

Insurers have a duty to handle claims in good faith. Depending on the jurisdiction, an insurer’s failure to settle, unreasonable denial of a claim, or improper claims handling can expose the insurer to damages above the policy limits. Automobile accidents were a driving force behind bad faith litigation last year, with four significant appellate-level decisions […]