United States

The Supreme Court of the State of New York, recently granted the insured’s request for the production of certain claims file material and previously sealed discovery in Estée Lauder Inc. v. OneBeacon Insurance Group LLC et al., leaving insurers with yet another troubling instance of a broadened scope of discovery in bad faith cases.

California Governor Edmund Brown has added his voice to a number of California legislators calling for an overhaul of the state's Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986 – better known as Proposition 65.

According to a New York appellate court, insurers may still disclaim coverage years after underlying litigation commenced, if the insurer’s delay in doing so did not prejudice the insured.

In Corenbaum v. Lampkin, --- Cal.Rptr.3d ----, 2013 WL 1801996 (Cal.App. 2 Dist.), the court made it clear that when calculating damages in a personal injury lawsuit, the projected value of future medical services must be based upon the amount paid.

If you are a subrogation professional who handles construction defect claims in Texas, you may have heard references to the case of Ewing Construction Company v. Amerisure Insurance Company, 684 F.3d 512 (5th Cir. 2012).

On March 13, 2013, the Oregon legislature introduced Senate Bill 814.

A discussion on a recent case where the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, applying Pennsylvania law, reversed the district court’s summary judgment order holding that a general liability insurer had a duty to defend and indemnify a policyholder in a lawsuit seeking damages resulting from an accident occurring off the policyholder’s premises.

On Monday of this week, the Massachusetts’s Division of Insurance issued a bulletin mandating prompt investigation of business interruption, property damage and medical insurance claims by policyholders victimized by the Boston Marathon bombings.

In a line of recent cases, the 2nd Circuit has limited ERISA plaintiffs’ claims for breach of the duty of prudence by holding that investments of benefit plan funds in employer securities pursuant to plans calling for such investments are presumptively prudent and dismissing claims at the motion to dismiss stage.

As reported in our November 2012 Client Alert entitled Latest Regulatory Developments Concerning Unclaimed Life Insurance Benefits, a few states have passed new laws governing claims investigation practices to address the issue of unclaimed life insurance benefits.

Like many companies who made products containing asbestos, Kaiser Cement and Gypsum Corporation has over the past several decades defended thousands of asbestos bodily injury claims brought by construction workers who allege they were exposed and suffered bodily injury resulting from exposure to Kaiser Cement’s asbestos containing products.

The franchisor/franchisee contractual relationship is one that incites many questions, particularly in terms of insurance. Although this article is not intended to provide legal advice, as specific fact patterns and state laws differ, it provides general principles regarding Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) that can be used as guidelines.

A New York appellate court recently upheld a supreme court ruling that an insurer had a duty to defend a manufacturer’s faulty workmanship where it resulted in third party property damage. I.J. White Corp. v. Columbia Cas. Co., 2013 NY Slip Op 2500 (N.Y. App. Div. 1st Dep’t Apr. 16, 2013).

In Farkas v. National Union Fire Insurance Company of Pittsburgh, PA, No. 12-1481, 2013 WL 1459248 (4th Cir. Apr. 11, 2013), the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit affirmed the district court’s summary judgment order and held that a Directors & Officers (D&O) liability insurer had no duty to defend the chairman of the policyholder after he was convicted of criminal fraud.

In Koransky, Bouwer & Poracky, P.C. v. The Bar Plan Mutual Insurance Co., No. 12-1579, 2013 WL 1296724 (7th Cir. Apr. 2, 2013), the Seventh Circuit, applying Indiana law, held that coverage under a professional liability "claims made" policy was precluded where the policyholder provided the insurer with notice at the time a malpractice suit was filed, as opposed to when the policyholder was first aware of the facts giving rise to the suit.

Less than two weeks apart, two appellate courts issued opinions analyzing whether faulty work claims are covered under commercial general liability policies, each reaching a different result.

CMS published a proposed rule on April 5, 2013 detailing regulations that aim to prevent biases and conflicts of interest for Navigators and non-Navigator Assistance Personnel in connection with the soon-to-be implemented health insurance Exchanges (the "Proposed Rule").

Many jurisdictions have announced that they plan to more actively pursue natural resource damages from potentially responsible parties deemed liable under CERCLA or Superfund.

n Union Electric Company v. AEGIS Energy Syndicate 1225, No. 12-3546, 2013 WL 1688859 (8th Cir. Apr. 19, 2013), the US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit held that under Missouri law, a choice-of-law and forum-selection endorsement to an excess insurance policy superseded the policy’s mandatory arbitration clause, thereby affirming the trial court’s denial of the foreign insurer’s motion to compel arbitration.

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act has gone from a distant deadline to an imminent reality, with the controversial "play or pay" provisions scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2014.